New Year's Eve is easily one of the most highly anticipated nights of the year.
That being said, let's be honest, it often ends up being an enormous letdown.
Whether it's finding the perfect dress or the magical midnight kiss, we go into the night expecting too much and end up disappointed when our expectations aren't met.
As the date gets closer and closer, a hot topic of discussion among friends and colleagues is where everyone will be ringing in the new year.
Personally, I've done just about everything.
I've spent New Year's Eve at a fancy hotel party in Puerto Rico, and I've also spent it playing beer pong in a basement with random people I went to high school with.
There was also that one time I met Perez Hilton in New York, but now we're just making my life sound way more cool than it really is.
Regardless of how you choose to spend it, one thing is certain: As we brave through the crippling hangover on January 1, we will either feel one of two ways:
We'll believe the nausea we are experiencing is worth it because we had an amazing night, or we'll feel we were mostly drinking in hopes of making the night more exciting, and it didn't even work in the end.
Although every year there will always be the pressure to attend the hottest party (mostly to show off on Instagram the next day), the key to a good New Year's Eve isn't where you are.
It's who you're with.
Since approaching the new year is all about making changes for the better, it makes sense to spend it with people who bring out the best in you.
You might initially feel lame for celebrating with a few close friends, rather than hitting the club with a huge group, but why should you?
When you're with your best friends, they won't judge you for drunk texting your true feelings to that guy you've been keeping it casual with.
They also won't judge you for asking to leave right after midnight because you've officially gotten too old for this.
New Year's Eve is additionally so built up because it's supposed to represent kicking off the new year in an amazing way. It's almost like we are forced to feel guilty if our night was okay but not great, because we irrationally believe this night is foreshadowing the year.
The same way resolutions are perceived as "make it or break it" vows for the new year, New Year's Eve is considered an "all or nothing" type of night.
The problem is, to ensure we have a great night, we often spend too much time focusing on the location and atmosphere rather than who we will be with.
You know deep down you'll never wear that overpriced sparkly dress again, but you still buy it.
You're aware that spending over $100 just for an open bar is excessive, but there you are printing the tickets.
That being said, celebrating New Year's Eve in a big way isn't always a bad thing.
Just don't get too consumed by the details that you forget what really matters, like being with people you genuinely care about.
Don't have a New Year's resolution yet?
How about making it to focus less on impressing others, and more on doing what makes you happy?
Try embracing this mentality a little early, and you won't regret your New Year's Eve plans other than how many glasses of champagne you end up having.
No promises there.
