When I graduated from Lurleen B. Wallace Community College in the Fall of 2017, I had no idea that I was going to be thrown to the wolves. Not literally, but you guys feel my thunder. From the parking tickets to the long lines just to get something to eat, I have decided that Troy would make sure I never wanted to attend another college again. Nothing in all of my twenty years of living could've prepared me for my first semester at Troy.

On my very first day of class, I jumped out of my bed with the feeling that I was going to make a difference and that I could take on the world.I dressed up in my favorite burgundy dress and my wedges. I even woke up early enough to even put on a new face (my makeup). As my grandmother would say, "I thought I was hot stuff." I walked outside and the song started singing to me "Goodmorning, Goodmorning " so again I thought I was Wonder Women. So after a full fifteen-minute ensemble solo, I got in my car and as soon as I left the driveway, it got dark outside.

There was the longest line at the stop light, just to get to campus. It literally took me thirty-five minutes just to drive a half of a mile. Even after the longest, shortest drive of my life I finally made it to campus and there were literally like 3,000 cars, bikes, and scooters on campus and it blew my mind. Coming from a small community college like Lurleen B. Wallace where there were like thirty cars and everybody else kind of walked, this was really making my head spin. So I finally pulled myself out of the daze I was in and eventually found a parking spot after driving around for an hour.

By this time my sunshine smile was starting to dim a little. I was thirty minutes late for my first class at the college, my makeup was dripping off because I was shining so hard, and my wedges were hurting my feet. So, I finally make it to the middle of campus and I don't even know where to go. It never dawned on me to look and figure out where my classes. I guess I had that whole Marilyn Monroe in a white dress thing going on and a guy on a golf cart stopped and asked me if I needed help.

Finally when I made it to my class. As soon as I walked in the door my teacher politely asked "Are you Paige Campbell?" and I replied proudly "Yes, that's me. She said "OK, good! Class Dismissed."

That was the moment my entire shine went completely away. I was so over Troy and it had only been here for a couple hours. I nicely walked three miles back to my car with my shoes in my hand and by this time so was my makeup. I got in my car, drove to my house, and I put all my shine in the closet for the next day.