I appear at the campus looking up towards the familiar buildings in which I call a second home. I walked towards them knowing I will spend four years of my life on this property. The buildings, all tan in color, looked as if they were out of Cinderella. The students were the townspeople, the teachers were the guards, and the buildings were the castle.  I walked past the newly planted grass or what the sisters called “baby blades” that was near the great big bell tower. The tower had three separate brass bells inside that played a “Gregorian chant” unique to the time of day. While the bells rang inside, the tower was surrounded by a giant blue ribbon.  The blue ribbon was to show off the prestigious blue ribbon award given to this school. I continued to walk as I looked around seeing familiar faces; none of them were my friends but rather acquaintances of my freshman year.  The grass and buildings were surrounded by big metal gates as if we were in a prison. Was it to keep children from leaving or to protect them from the outside world?

I looked down at my schedule recognizing the familiar buildings and mapping my route in which I would go class to class. I headed towards Fitzgerald Hall, one of the oldest buildings on campus and entered through the floor to ceiling glass doors. Straight ahead and to the side was a trophy case displaying the awards received by the teams, showing their dominance and accomplishments they have had over other schools since their 70 years of opening. I walked down the long narrow hallway with lockers on both sides parallel to each other. I opened my locker to fill it with the library of books that I was carrying. My locker was bare compared to others. Some, mostly freshman, had pictures of One Direction taped to the inside, along with a mini pink chandelier that hung from the top and illuminated a variety of colors. Decorating lockers was the only way to express yourself, keeping that in mind I wondered what my locker said about me. I got my books that were needed for my first two class periods and shut my naked locker. 

Looking around every girl was wearing the same thing, a nicely pleated blue and green skirt with a length no shorter than three inches above the knee and a blue or white short sleeve polo. Many students disregarded wearing a shirt and only wore the newest design of the uniform sweatshirt.  The freshman were the most obvious to pick out from the students. They wore the most makeup, did their hair, and had the new patterned Vera Bradley backpacks. The freshman looked the happiest due to their high school career starting which will quickly change once they finished their first week and have two mental breakdowns. The sophomores, juniors, and seniors all looked alike. They upgraded from Vera Bradley to Marc Jacobs backpacks, had a Dutch Bros or AJ’s drink in their hand, and wore black Ugg slippers with white crew socks without a logo. Their hair was messy and tangled like a rat’s nest that was thrown into a bun. No one cared what they looked like for they were just trying to get through the day. It was a never ending cycle wake up, go to school, go home, and do more schoolwork. I continued to walk down the hallway that smelt like split coffee and Einstein bagels until I finally arrived at my homeroom.

Entering my homeroom I look around, engulfing myself in a foreign environment. It is like I have just walked through a black hole that transported me to France. Posters hung up on the wall in a foreign language that I could not decipher. A giant French flag hung over the smart board projecting its vibrant red, white, and blue colors throughout the class. I took a seat towards the front of the room staring at an abstract painting of a big fat cat wearing a black French beret on its head.  The seats were an awkward shape, purposely uncomfortable forcing the student to sit up straight. The tables were a smooth metal that was ice cold to the touch. I always believed they kept the classrooms cold so that the students were forced to buy uniform sweatshirts that were priced at $70 each. The students around me were laying their heads on the table, I smirked finding humor that they believe those 2 extra minutes of “sleep” will get them through the day. Others were hurrying to finish their homework, writing as if their lives were endangered. I smirked again knowing that it was only the first day of school and people are already behind. They have already started to play the endless game of catch-up which will last them until the Dean announces their name during graduation. The last bell rang sounding as if there was a siren held up to my sensitive ears.

Our attention drew towards the old brown boxed shape TV that looked as if it was from the 70’s hanging in the corner of the classroom. A cross appeared on the screen with a background voice reading the daily verse from the Bible. Once finished she announced “please stand for prayer.” The whole class stood simultaneously with ease and grace. Bowing our heads and holding our hands we say the “Lord’s Prayer”. At this moment the whole school is united with God as one representing the school’s mission statement, “Women of Faith Pursuing Excellency”. As we finish our prayer we announce our belief with an “amen” and the bodiless voice announces “you may be seated”.  The bell rings again violently in my ear, initiating the start of my sophomore year.