The Snowball Experience of a Lifetime
Blessing Atobatele (’22) & Ms. Kara Williams (Media Specialist) pose at the Snowball Retreat: April 2022.
April 18, 2022
Stepping outside of your comfort zone is, of course…uncomfortable, but what you gain from it is fulfilling and enriching.
Getting the opportunity to encounter people who otherwise I would never have talked to is jarring. I learned new things, and even tried new things I thought weren’t for me, simply by being surrounded by people with different experiences. Some things I experienced while being at Snowball was the camping experience, learning that everyone doesn’t think like me, and a greater understanding of myself while on an emotional rollercoaster.
At Snowball, students from every high school in my district came out to participate. The point of Snowball is to meet new people, so they randomly placed us in groups with these other schools. Honestly, when I first saw the people who were in my group, I was definitely skeptical and kind of sad. I knew nobody in my group and felt alone. Because I was being judgmental, I thought I wasn’t going to have a good time, since in my eyes they weren’t the typical people I would hang out with… boy, did they prove me wrong.
Instead of accepting these people for who they are, I was seeing everything they weren’t. I am an outgoing, funny, bubbly person, and it doesn’t take much for me to come out of my shell. However, the people in my group were somewhat the opposite of me in terms of personality and their interests, so in the beginning connecting with them was very hard. I felt out of place, and I felt like I was put in the wrong group.
I built lifelong friendships.
Until my group lead made a statement to me: “Maybe you need to come down to a level where they’re comfortable at.”
My thoughts were racing, “Was I the one being overbearing? or were they just boring?” And it was such an eye opener.
With group discussions we had, I decided to not be the one taking charge in every discussion, but let them speak in their comfortability. I realized I could be unintentionally overshadowing the rest of my group members, which didn’t give me the opportunity to get to know them. With them helping me grow, I also helped them. I’ve witnessed one of the shyest girls, on the last day join our group videos and SPEAK which was huge in my eyes, especially knowing that on the first day, she didn’t say a word. That made me so happy because I know she was finally able to be herself. Within those 3 days of knowing each other, we ate lunch together, told scary stories, cried together, told personal stories, and, most importantly, built connections with one another. I can honestly say that I built lifelong friendships.
The camping experience definitely put the cherry on top. The camp was huge so everywhere we went was a pretty decent walk, but it was so refreshing to breathe fresh air and be active in nature. We were surrounded by only tall trees, grass, mud, the whole nine yard, and it was amazing. It even rained while we were out there. I was definitely cold, but the warmth of the cabins were so comfy. We slept in cabins with people aside from our small groups, giving even more opportunities to build connections.
We weren’t allowed to have our phones on the trip, so everything entertaining was solely based on what we made of the experience. I really appreciated that because when we were talking in our group discussions, the conversations were so genuine.
I rate Snowball a 100/10; it’s an experience that everyone deserves to have.
The people, atmosphere, and conversations were phenomenal.
