Every year of high school I’ve heard about the Snowball Retreat but never quite knew what it was about. However, this year was different because I formed new friendships and interests, leading me to a two-day retreat at Camp Manitoqua with over 100 other District 228 students. At first, I was going to Snowball to support my friend Daisy and try something new, but the closer it got to the retreat I began thinking of it as a way to get away from life for 36 hours. I desperately needed to get away but didn’t realize I needed the message I was about to receive.
Snowball is a freeing and positive experience for most participants and I was one of them. When I first entered the camp I was greeted with friendly faces and cheers. The adult staff and teen staff made me feel welcomed immediately and the group activities continued the trend. The first small group was filled with ice breakers like 4 corners, singing, and dancing. Yes, I said singing and dancing, and considering I’m not good at either I wasn’t the biggest fan of the activity. However, it did serve its purpose of making me feel okay with looking silly because everyone else looked silly too. After a large group, as individuals we branched off and did workshops and one stood out to me because it made me think of myself in a positive light. I went on a hike with a recreational therapist. She asked the others and me on the hike what we love about ourselves, what we are good at, and what have we done that makes us proud. My answers to the questions were that I love my resilience, I am good at connecting with others through conversations, and I’m proud of how far I’ve come and all that I’ve accomplished. Hiking in nature and thinking good thoughts about myself was refreshing and something I didn’t know I needed.
Snowball also provided me with different perspectives and the comfort of knowing I am not alone. The large groups and small groups weren’t all light-hearted, there were also serious topics discussed. The one that stood out to me was about substance abuse. The speaker was a woman who was exposed to alcoholism at a young age because her mother was an addict. She spoke to the insecurities, trauma, and predisposition to addiction that come from having a parent in active addiction. Feeling unloved and like a nuisance because her mother spent her nights out partying instead of at home impacted the way she moved through her teenage years. She kept looking for her crowd and eventually ended up with people who would lead her astray. She quickly fell into addiction and stayed there for over a decade. Thankfully one day she realized what she was doing wasn’t good, at that point, she had a son and needed to change for him. Since then she has recovered and has shared her story with many young people like me to help us remain in check and control of our own lives. Her story stood out to me because it reminded me to constantly check myself. It is not enough to say I don’t want to be a certain way, I have to actively work against it. Her speech that I’m not alone in the experience I had growing up and the talk I had with my small group reinforced that idea.
The retreat was a refreshing and unique experience that I am very grateful for. Since leaving Snowball I have learned how others view me, grown closer with my friends, confirmed my values, and learned to be kinder to myself. The retreat was a great way to bond with others and myself while getting away from the rest of the world. I recommend this retreat to anyone who has thought about going, it won’t be regretted.
