arrival to merrock: local; left for her studies but returned in early 2022.
housing: the coast.
occupation: children's art instructor and intern.
work place: The Color Wine and From Brush to Canvas.
family: Chetan Gupta (step-brother).
relationship status: single.
PERSONALITY
If you're looking for friendly conversation and low maintenance friendship, you'll find it in Minnie Karimi. Minnie has always been somewhat socially awkward; something that's stuck with her since her early childhood. She's still not very good at interaction, but she tries really hard. It's really not that she doesn't care (because she does very much actually), she just doesn't really know how to connect with people most of the time. Mostly because she's naturally very logical and often quite tense. Minnie is a strong believer in justice and is openly passionate about her personal beliefs, which has gotten her into some pretty heated arguments with people in the past and she's thrown salt into some wounds when prompted. All in all, she's someone who wants people to like her despite coming off as aloof, even if she doesn't mean to.
WRITTEN BY: Janessa (she/her), est.
BACKGROUND / BIO
triggering / sensitive content: divorce.
When it came to the game of life, Yasmin Karimi was dealt a really good hand at birth, and she was well aware of that. Yasmin, or as she prefers, Minnie, was born into an upper middle-class social status where she had a family who loved her, and she had everything she could ever wish for. Like many others who lived in Merrock, Minnie had been born and raised in the small town. The Karimi's were one of those families around Merrock that everyone just knew, mostly because they had been in the town for generations after her grandfather moved to the town as a child, but also because they were essentially a dictionary definition of a New England family. Sunday dinners, football watch parties, backyard barbecues and Mainer hospitality.
When Minnie was just a little over six years old, she had her world turned upside down. Her parents split up, realizing that they were better off as friends than lovers. Minnie couldn't believe her perfect family wouldn't be together forever. But things weren't always like what she saw in the movies. So, she and her siblings were to stay put in Merrock with their father, Behrad, while their mother, Macy, moved to the next town over. That was fine for Minnie as her parents agreed on a joint custody arrangement, allowing her to still see her mother on the weekends. Life threw another curve ball when her father fell in love with another woman, one who had a teenage son named Chetan. Minnie ended up having to adjust to her family's new household when her father's girlfriend moved in with them. Eventually, her father married the woman and Minnie gained a step-family in the process. Minnie's new household was always tight-knit, maybe a little too much so. At least that's what she thought as she got older. Her father insisted on having 'family night' every Saturday, which was great when she was a little kid. Eventually, it was something that she and her siblings dreaded, because they all wanted to do their own thing. Minnie would always find a way to get out of nightly festivities, which she would only feel bad about later. Her father would always give her a disappointed look - the one he probably knew would get to her. It wasn't easy, but she managed.
Growing up, Minnie just wasn't the kind of person that people remembered. Or at least, she wouldn't have been if she hadn't earned the reputation as "smartest girl in the class" when she was still in elementary school. Being the smart one was her claim to fame, and it was the only reason that she wasn't able to fade into the background the way she would have otherwise. Being known as the smart one wasn't something that ever really bothered her, because it was just a fact. Ever since the first year she spent in school, she had always done well on tests and brought home straight A's. It was her way of standing out in her family, because Minnie was the youngest of the three Karimi kids. And as much as she loved her family - and she really did, there was no denying that - it was incredibly easy to get lost in the chaos when there were multiple people with big personalities living in one house. And being great in school was something that helped her avoid getting lost in the shuffle.
The hunger for knowledge was kept alive within the family. Exploration and curiosity was encouraged and even rewarded. Minnie took many road trips throughout the years with each of her parents, as both of them wanted their children to experience great adventures and be allowed to learn about things firsthand. Minnie had thoroughly toured every museum on the eastern side of the United States and several in the west. The desire to learn is something Minnie will always possess.
From a young age, Minnie's passion has been art. From drawing on the walls in crayon to making sculptures with mud from the backyard, she was always looking for ways to fuel her creativity. This sometimes came in the form of using her older sister's dolls as center pieces, much to her sister's irritation. It didn't surprise her that she would come to love being artistic, as she could remember going through photos of her parents being involved in community theater or college performances, as well as paintings her mother did and listening to her father play the piano. Her parents were artists in their own right and she wanted to follow suit. She always dreamed of sharing her love of art with others, and by age eleven, she was determined to have a career in it, hoping to be an art curator or an art educator. Grades, community service and AP classes became the focus of her life, determined to get out of the small town and do something more impressive. Combine that with a naturally quiet (though occasionally snarky) personality, she spent most of her teenage years with a limited group of friends, burying her nose in a textbook and doing any extra work that she could get from teachers to increase her GPA to over a 4.0 and her college chances.
When applying to college, she was accepted to a handful of high end universities across the United States, and decided to attend Georgetown University in pursuit of making something of herself. For the most part, college was the best thing that had ever happened to Minnie. High school had been okay, and during those formative years she had managed to find people that she was able to connect to in a way that she hadn't been able to before, but it was in college that she really started to feel like she belonged somewhere. Suddenly, she wasn't one of the only smartest people in the class, and she was, for the most part, just another face in the crowd. That was the way she liked it. She really started making friends and she started feeling accepted for who she was. Life was good. And honestly, Minnie found Georgetown to be an intense environment. Though, Minnie loved that, wanting to be constantly surrounded by people who were in the same boat as her.
Her attempts to remain invisible were thwarted sophomore year, when one of the particularly outgoing women's basketball players decided to run into the school's library to ask Minnie for her number. More mortified than anything else, Minnie gave it to her, not expecting much. Lotta, the name of the basketball player, texted Minnie almost as soon as she got home from studying and thus began the relationship that spanned the rest of their college years. There was always a little confusion as to why a hotshot basketball player would want someone like Minnie, but regardless of everything else, they were in love like no other. It was that kind of love.
Minnie graduated in the top 10% of her class, with a bachelor's degree in art history to her name. The plan was to move to Indianapolis with Lotta, as that was where Lotta was drafted to for the WNBA. It felt like everything was on track, until Lotta announced (just after graduation) that they should breakup, claiming it was for Minnie's own good. Needless to say, it was a huge upheaval for her and she wasn't really sure how to handle it all.
Not having a Plan B to fall back on, Minnie moved back home to Merrock where she found herself living in a rented house near the coast with the help of her parents. It didn't take long for Minnie to land a job as a children's art instructor at The Color Wine as she needed the money, welcoming the new opportunity with open arms. As she settled into a new routine, it was her parents who insisted she kept up with her education, encouraging Minnie to apply for the master's program at the local community college. And as she began working towards her master's degree, it was obvious that getting an education wasn't her only goal and she wanted something more than a degree that looked good on paper. So, after pulling some favors with people who work at the art gallery that is in town, she managed to score a position as an intern on the weekends, allowing her to further her knowledge of art and its history. Plus, Minnie was excited to get even more hands-on experience. For now, Minnie wouldn't change a thing about her life, finding herself content and happy in small town, laid-back suburbia that is Merrock, Maine.
Minnie (she/her, cis woman) was born on May 19, 2000 in Merrock, Maine, and is a local who returned in 2022. They're working as a children's art instructor & intern at The Color Wine and From Brushto Canvas, and live in the coastal area. (written by Janessa (she/her, est) & portrayed by yara shahidi).
FILLING CONNECTION: Chetan Gupta's step-sister, Mandy Hartman's employee at The Color Wine.
Hi, Janessa, welcome to Merrock! We're so excited to see Minnie here in town. Make sure to check out our welcome page, and submit your account within 48 hours, and your personality & background within one week. Thank you! xx
face claim: Yara Shahidi.
full name: Yasmin Neda Karimi.
nickname(s) / goes by: Minnie, Min, Mimi, Yas.
pronouns & gender: she/her, cis woman.
sexuality: lesbian.
birth date: May 19, 2000.
birth place: Merrock, ME.
arrival to merrock: local; left for her studies but returned in early 2022.
housing: the coast.
occupation: children's art instructor and intern.
work place: The Color Wine and From Brush to Canvas.
family: Chetan Gupta (step-brother).
relationship status: single.
filling connection: Chetan Gupta's step-sibling, Mandy Hartman's employee at The Color Wine.
"Sometimes the smallest step in the right direction ends up being the biggest step if your life" ~ #takeastep ⏳💡👣 #yasminkarimi #yasminkarimibeauty #dreambig (at THE Y K DREAM)
I absolutely #love my #yasminkarimibeauty TEAM I am super #blessed to have such a beautiful loyal team working for me. I love you girls and I cannot thank you enough for supporting me and being part of my dream. @kajalkarena_ @noor_khan88 @mpglamour @seekersofsun #italy #indianwedding #yasminkarimi (at Borgo Egnazia Cala Masciola)
