24WARD: New Year's Eve

24WARD: Things to Look Forward to When I'm 24

Part Two: New Year's Eve

Believe it or not, I have not had a proper celebration of New Year's.

Since turning twenty-one, which of course makes every celebration twenty-one times better, I have spent New Year's Eve sober, alone, and miserable. Not saying that you need alcohol to or people to celebrate New Year's, but to me, it would make the celebration better.

Here's a recap of the past three New Year's Eve "celebrations"

2011 ---> 2012 

I rang in the new year at work.

I was working at a bowling alley (which ended up being the worst job I have ever worked...and I have worked A LOT of jobs) and we were told that we were running a New Year's Eve special that evening and that we were going to be so busy.

We were dead slow.

Instead of sending the people who worked that night and also had to open the next morning (aka ME) home first, they sent home people who had dead sections. Mine had actual people in them. But I didn't care: my friends were out celebrating, and if I even had the chance to leave work early to celebrate with them before hopping into bed to work the next morning, I was going to take it. I didn't leave work until 1:30am. I had to work at 8am the next day. I got home, climbed into bed (wearing my work uniform), rolled out of bed at 7:30am, and went to work my miserable bowling alley waitress job.

2012 ---> 2013

I rang in the new year reading in bed.

Since my previous year was less than satisfactory and my boyfriend was finally twenty-one with me, I had set out to celebrate with him. I had made plans to go bar hopping with him and some friends and stay at a friend's house. It was gonna be great.

Just two days before New Year's, my boyfriend informed me that he and his friend were going to Los Angeles for a few days on a road trip. 

"We are leaving the morning of the thirty-first and coming home January second. You wanna come with?"
"I work the evening on January first and a double on the second."
'Oh bummer, well have fun on New Year's."

Well, now that my plans were ruined and I wasn't invited to any New Year's parties, I grabbed some dinner at IHOP then went home and read a book while I lay in bed.

2013 ---> 2014

I rang in the new year crying in bed.

I was determined. I was going to make this New Year's better.

I had a different boyfriend. We had plans to spend it at a friend's house. It was going to be great.

Until I was scheduled 5pm-10pm on New Year's Eve and then 8am-3pm the next day.

I told my boyfriend about the work predicament and how I could come hang out after work for a couple hours before going home to bed.

"Oh, sweetie...actually this is a guy's night. You're not invited."

That's fine. I didn't wanna hang out with you on New Year's.

It turns out that on New Year's Eve, someone called out and I had to go in early. I ended up working 10am-10pm New Year's Eve, and I was so completely exhausted and new I had to work the next morning, that I went home and crawled into bed.

The entire night, my boyfriend would send me texts about how much fun he was having and how much he missed me and other pointless bullshit.

So, you can imagine my dread for this year's New Year's Eve. I almost decided to give up, because apparently I'm not meant to clink a champagne glass against my friends' glasses and drink bubbles with them. I'm not meant to sing "Auld Lang Syne" obnoxiously when the ball drops. I'm not meant to kiss the lips of someone I love when the clock strikes midnight. It's not in the cards for me.

Yesterday morning, I woke up and checked my email and Facebook notifications from the past few hours of slumber. I received a Facebook event invitation from Freddie inviting me to a New Year's Party with all his friends to his cabin.

I immediately grew with excitement. Finally! I get to go to a New Year's Party with friends and drink champagne and wine and spend the evening in a cabin away from work.

Here's to looking forward to ringing in the new year of my dreams.