New Year’s Eve Is All About Who You’re Celebrating With, Not Where You’re Celebrating

New Year's Eve - a time for celebration, a chance to look back with gratitude and acknowledge all the progress you've made during the year; or - at the very least - to assess your blunders and mistakes to help you to plan better for the year ahead.  Ringing in the new year gives you a chance to party like it's 1999 all over again - and who isn't down for that?

Entrance fee/ticket to the hot NYE spot you’ll be getting down in - $150

The perfect dress - $150.

The perfect shoes - $75.

Being with the people you love and cherish most to celebrate the new year - Priceless.

While I do love to party rock, I have always found NYE to be somewhat depressing; to quote the infamous John Lennon: "another year over, and what have you done?" That song lyric is meant to inspire you to think about your contributions to society, but I can’t help but think about my relationship status instead. Much like Valentine’s Day, I find it to be a little pressuring to be single and without someone to kiss when the ball drops. Despite my seemingly chronic singledom, I have actually had a blast these past few new year's, so I delved a little deeper in wondering where my negativity over year-end comes from. In thinking back to my less-than-great NYE memories, I realized that every bad memory had one common denominator: they were only bad because at that time, I was missing the person I really wanted to be with that night. Even the past few years,  I’ve had a great time because I was surrounded by the people I care about the most (and yes, I was single). Nothing else matters more than the people you love.

When something good (or bad) happens to you, who are the people you run to first, who you want to share your good news with? These people are undoubtedly the key people in your life that you rely on and to whom contribute to your overall happiness, so when NYE rolls around, those are the people you want to be with to enjoy and celebrate your love, friendship, and memories together, and welcome all the good that the new year has in store. After all, isn't that what New Year’s Eve is all about?

Going to an overcrowded, overpriced venue for the evening can definitely be fun, but it’s a less necessary evil when your core group of besties would rather forego the hoopla to get tipsy at their house instead (inexpensively, I might add). As for couples, who wouldn’t rather ring in the New Year with some big O’s? Clothes aren’t even a necessity – sounds like the best kind of party to me. Holidays are significant days of the year that we celebrate, and the basis for these celebrations are love and gratitude. Without the most important people in our lives to bring us joy, there would be no reason for the season, and NYE is certainly no exception. Your loved ones are your own personal cheering section in life – when you rock that interview for your dream job, get that promotion,  or finally meet the guy of your dreams, it is going to be your squad jumping up and down with you, celebrating your success.

Holidays like NYE are a great reminder to look around you and practice gratitude; if you have people in your life that fill your heart with love, grab them and make sure they know how much they are appreciated – every single day. Whether you’re dancing in the club until the early hours of January 1st, watching Ryan Seacrest count down the night, or even asleep before midnight, you’re one of the lucky ones if you did it surrounded by love.

Happy New Year!