Staff Writer Acy Jackson had a snowball fight with her friends on Thursday as part of UNC's Bucket List. She documented her experience here.
Rule #1: Bring gloves.
When waging a war against your compatriots, it is important to have the proper attire. This includes hand coverings that will allow you to adequately prepare your weapon while keeping frostbite at bay.
The proper gloves are also important. Knit gloves, although warm and stylish, have an attractive force with snow that can cause dampness and therefore allowing the cold to permeate the fibers of the gloves. My recommendation: leather gloves.
I, unfortunately, did not take my own advice when embarking on a quest for snowball glory and went with bare hands for battle.
Rule #2: Plan your fight with the weather.
Snow is fickle and is not always acceptable for adequate snowball tossing. Thursday’s weather was not ideal weather for engaging in snow activities. With the temperature dropping to Snow Miser degrees, most of the soft, fluffy goodness had solidified into harsh, dangerous ice.
Now, snowball fights are meant to be jovial and civil. Ice balls are not jovial and civil. You throw an ice ball at your friend, and you’re probably losing that friend — at least you would lose me as a friend.
So, let’s all agree to play by the rules of the snow and leave the ice balls to Elsa. When my lovely friends and I trudged out to McCorkle Place to partake in wintery fun, we found a lot of ice, followed by more ice. On the plus side, weaponry had already been prepared, but on the down side, these were a little more vicious than we wanted. Therefore, we decided to mostly threaten by firing at the opposition’s feet.
Rule #3: Don’t ever turn your back on your enemy.
In a snowball fight, everyone is your enemy. You do not know who you can trust; it’s a dangerous game. Do not let your guard down or you will be shot down. I learned this the hard way. I was struck in the back when I thought all was clear. I say again, trust no one.
Rule #4: Have awesome friends.
Although they may become enemies over the course of a battle, if you have people that are willing to join you on the ice in inside-of-your-nose-freezing temperatures, then those are some great friends.
Also, doesn’t hurt to bribe them with coffee and hot chocolate afterwards.
university@dailytarheel.com
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