By Ashtyn Britt
Writer
abritt@lc.edu

I haven’t been kissed on New Year’s Eve before. While in High School I was more bummed about this fact, since I’ve been more in the adult world I’ve come to realize something. Kissing on New Year’s Eve is overrated. Sure, the idea of that perfect-movie-kiss sinks into most people’s brains as one of the most romantic things in life, but that isn’t necessarily true. New Year’s Eve isn’t about romance, it’s about enjoying the feeling that we can get a new start in the new year.

Some have found the last twelve months to be particularly difficult, with the state of our world to the pain of losing loved ones or feeling heartbreak. New Year’s Eve is a reminder that time really does go on, and that we can even make a chance to start over. Plenty of people attend parties, and plenty more prefer to spend the holiday with a love interest to share a sweet kiss at midnight.

I would rather spend my New Year’s Eve with my best friends. I won’t be kissing any of them, but we will be talking about resolutions while playing Cards Against Humanity. We’ll be debating over the best movie that came out over the previous year, and probably be singing way off key to 80’s rock music. We’ll be talking about the new classes we’ll be taking, or about politics, or musicals, and probably ten thousand other topics we won’t know until we’re already discussing them!

Honestly? I’d prefer that over kissing anybody on New Year’s Eve, every time. The idea of a New Year’s kiss is supposed to be that you want to spend the rest of the year with that person, but I don’t need a kiss for that. I just need the friends I’ve made, who have helped me get through some of the harder times of this year. I won’t lie, 2017 has been a rough year for me personally, and it will not be a year that I miss or look on too fondly. The people who helped me make it out alive however, I will always hold fondly.

A special thank you to the great people I will be spending New Year’s Eve with, you know who you are, because you are the best friends that a person could ever ask for. I look forward in anticipation to the next year of us being friends and enjoying all our crazy antics. Maybe I am being a tad optimistic, but I am very much looking forward to a new year with you. Hopefully, a new year filled with great memories to make and new situations to conquer.

For the couples who will be sharing a kiss at midnight, good for you! I hope you enjoy yourselves. However, for everyone else like me who won’t be sharing in the tradition of kissing into the new year, that’s perfectly fine too! Don’t feel discouraged, because you don’t need to kiss anybody on New Year’s Eve either. The only thing you need to kiss, is 2017 goodbye!