The weekend of January 15-17 was filled with magic. Harry Potter was the theme for Sacred Heart-Griffin’s 2016 Snowball, and the school was transformed into Hogwarts. I, a major fan of both friend-making and the world of Harry Potter, found the experience enchanting.
Having never gone to Snowball before, I was nervous, but I soon became very comfortable with the people around me. I was surrounded by so many people, people who were and were not fans of Harry Potter.
“I was ecstatic to learn that the theme was Harry Potter,” said senior Snowball leader Lauren Briney. “I’m a big fan of it and the way the co-directors mixed the theme in with normal Snowball made it all the more exciting.”
After a few fun games and a brief assembly, the students were sorted into one of the four Hogwarts Houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. I was sorted into Slytherin, which was awesome.
The classrooms were decorated to look like many of the rooms in the wizarding world, including: Defense Against the Dark Arts, Flying 101, Herbology, Potions, Astronomy and many others.
Aside from the fact that the four “houses” were competing to win, I made many new friends and got to know old friends even better. By participating in the activities we did, I learned so much about others and myself.
Over the weekend, along with enlightening speeches from the Snowball co-directors, there were two guest speakers. The first, a motivational speaker named Yahya Bakkar, told us about his rollercoaster life and how he made himself the best person he could possibly be.
The other speaker, singer Jessie Funk, explained how to keep “toxic” people out of our lives and how to surround ourselves with “breathers,” or people who “breathe” life, happiness and encouragement at us.
Although Snowball gets very personal, the leaders and participants were extremely understanding and comforting. The experience was uplifting to me. “I’m glad that they are comfortable with telling me about themselves and I’m happy I experienced it. It’s definitely one of the saddest parts,” said Briney.
Snowball was filled with many games, including Honey, I Love You and Quidditch. Briney’s favorite moment was “when we were playing a game called Tackle Tag. Everyone was clearly having tons of fun, and after a few hours we decided to switch games. Everyone was a little reluctant at first, but when they realized it had been two hours their reactions changed because it only seemed like thirty minutes.”
When it was time to leave, many hugs were exchanged and memories retold. This year’s Snowball was filled with skits, singing, laughter and tears. This is one experience I will not forget.
I am going to go to Snowball next year and I encourage everyone to go. “I am totally going to Snowball next year,” said freshman Grace Conlon, after experiencing her first Snowball. “It was so much fun and I loved meeting so many new people.”
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