New Years Eve Plans Are A Scam
There’s this existential feeling exclusive to New Year’s Eve. Somehow you’re always in the wrong place.
Whether you’re surrounded by people you know, people you don’t, or nobody at all — New Year’s Eve is engineered to make you feel like you’re the only person on this earth, and you’re completely alone.
You feel like you’ve run out of time. 11 months ago, you vowed to yourself that you’d be a different person by now. But because you haven’t become someone you don’t recognise, you’ve somehow failed.
There’s a reason that for the entire month of January, the pendulum swings violently between ‘hopeful’ and ‘hard on ourselves’. Humans are meant to fuck up, and if I’ve learnt anything in this life, it’s that our time here isn’t linear. So why are we forcing ourselves into resolutions where success is measured in setbacks?
So instead of putting pressure on ourselves to ‘start 2024 right’, let’s not. Let’s opt out of the people-pleaser mentality that sees us pulled from one party to another, panicking about who to kiss at midnight and if we chose right.
I asked people to tell me their best New Years Eve, and an overwhelming amount of responses made it super fucking clear that big parties are the worst way to spend the night. These were some of my favourite stories:
“Escaping to the Blue Mountains. Away from all the hustle & bustle playing records and enjoying quality time with a small group of people.”
“Last year was cute as I went away with a few friends but it was less about new years as a night and just hanging out. This year I’m doing literally nothing and I can’t wait to be left in peace!”
“My favourite New Years was when my partner and I had ear infections and so we bailed on all parties and watched cheesy movies at home and made gnocchi.”
“Probably when I had covid and was in isolation with my friend. We had a glass of wine at 9:30pm before going to bed. We set an alarm for 11:58, woke up, said ‘happy new years’ to each other, and went back to sleep.”
“Small party of six, we drank, played games, cheersed at midnight. Then we ordered food the next day, watched Shrek 2 and played more games.”
“With friends at Aldinga Beach. We dug a couch into the sand, played cricket, swam, played music, drank and danced.”
So go where you want for New Years Eve or don’t go anywhere at all, but I’m rooting for us to find our own version of fun — and if that’s going to sleep at a decent hour, so be it.
Written by Talecia Vescio, your local Aquarius Junkee Producer & Presenter. Find her on Instagram as @taleciavescio if you want to be friends.
Image credit: High School Musical, Disney