A few years ago, the Teen Advisory Board at the Crozet Library held a Yule Ball. I was in eighth grade at the time. I didn't help run it, but I did attend the event and I remember thinking it was amazing. The decorations were stunning, the activities and events were all super fun, and all of the Harry Potter vibes were bringing me back to my childhood. At the first TAB meeting afterwards, I wanted to tell all of the leaders of the Yule Ball what a wonderful job they had done and that I couldn't wait to do it next year. However, that was not how the leaders saw it. They simply said that they were never doing that again. What I had not seen from the sidelines was all of the hard work and stress that was put into the event, the late nights, the constant questions and deadlines. Also, glitter got everywhere, which was a nightmare to get out of the carpets.
I was super bummed. I had had a great time, but our presidents were adamant: The Yule Ball was a one time thing. Now, a few years later, our beloved presidents have graduated and I have taken on their responsibilities. Over the summer, we had run a Camp Half-Blood event for all of the Percy Jackson fans in the area. It went swimmingly (Percy Jackson pun not intended) and had a great turnout. At our next meeting, we were ready to run another Yule Ball. We had new leaders. Those who had Yule Ball PTSD had graduated. It was time to throw another one. I was put in charge of this giant undertaking. I was so happy that we were getting a chance to learn from the first Yule Ball and make the second one even better. We got a committee together and planned, starting in August. We laid a few ground rules from the beginning, to try and fix some of the issues from the first Ball. First, we weren't letting anyone younger than a sixth-grader come. Attendees had to have an invitation to validate the fact that they signed up for the event. And, lastly, but most importantly: No Glitter! We kept many events we all remembered from the first Yule Ball to keep the heart in the event. After months and months of planning, mishaps, and road bumps, the big day finally came. We went down to the very last minute before everyone arrived to set up all of the decorations, finalize events, and get everything in order. We unlocked the doors (which looked like Platform 9 ¾) and waited to be bombarded with young kids and glitter. But, much to our appreciation, we weren't! All of the attendees were so fun, polite, and fair. They followed the rules, didn't make a mess (for the most part) and everyone really seemed to enjoy it. No one complained when they weren't chosen to participate in events and everyone encouraged their team-mates. The food was great, the music was amazing, and the overall atmosphere was nostalgic. When it came to the end of the event, I was exhausted. We had a lot of cleaning up to do and I understood why the prospect of another Yule Ball was so daunting to our past presidents. However, I had a blast and I would totally be willing to do it again next year!
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