This post was originally published January 2, 2015
Fresh off the heels of another January 1, I'm interested in exploring the random, last-minute, teenage-through-21 New Years Eve's that I've spent on this earth. Let's take a look:
2007: Age 14, Corte Madera, CA
The beginning of my high school career! I didn't really have a good group of friends (a theme through my high school experience) but I did have someone named Olivia, whom I had met at an athletic camp the summer before. Olivia had a fancy house on a hill, and her parents were throwing a grown-up party where they wouldn't miss the bottle of champagne we stole.
Olivia and I took our contraband champagne down the fancy hill of her house, and somehow called a cab. Isn't calling a cab in the suburbs so 2007? I don't know how we did it. Anyway, we went to my house, which was empty, and drank our champagne there. Then we walked to the next neighborhood over where Olivia (much more popular than me) had discovered there was a party. We went to this party and I had my first shot! I didn't get wasted or party hard or anything, because I was more so interested in observing this teenage partying scene. It was just like the movies: there were kids making out on a couch (in front of everyone!) and another couple locked in a bedroom, whom, upon exit, announced to everyone exactly what they had done in said room. I later repeated this party trick my senior year, and soon discovered that telling everyone what you did while locked in a bedroom was not as cool as it was freshman year.
2008: Age 15, Pocono Mountains, PA
If you had asked me five minutes ago if I had ever been to Pennsylvania I would have said no. Sophomore year I had tacked a winter-break vacation with my friend Allie to her aunt's house in New Jersey, and we spent New Years at their house in "the Poconos." I had no idea where we were and I didn't care. It's only now after googling it that I'm realizing that I spent my first day of '08 in Pennsylvania, which is really random to me. Being 15, I didn't know or care where the Poconos was. I was just excited to be on a vacation with my friend without my parents.
The novelty of being on the same coast as "the ball drop" was the most memorable thing about this New Years. Also, being around snow was memorable as well. I made a snowman and had a snowball fight!
Having been a big ole drinker on the New Years prior to this one, I was determined not to spend the night sober, so I had a few sips of a beer that Allie's cousin stole us from the fridge. Just for the sake of it.
2009: Age 16, Corte Madera, CA
At 16 I had a car and a license, and I remember driving around looking for "a party" with my friend Hayley sticking her head out the window and telling me she could "taste the air." We spent the countdown with a few of the local BMX guys that we hung out with at the poolhouse of a housing complex in my hometown (one of the many places we'd go often to smoke and drink). It was uneventful and un-fun because eventually I had to take my drunk friend back to sleepover at my house and my parents were pissed that she woke them up.
2010, Age 17, Sausalito, CA
It was senior year of high school and I had made a commitment to having fun. My friend Talia and I were invited to a party at one of our acquaintances' house, and we planned on Talia's boyfriend driving my car to and from so that we could drink. The party was fun but uneventful because at this point in my life, I didn't have that many friends that I was *obsessed* with so it was really just me and some kids I know drinking at a house party like any other night.
2011: Age 18, San Francisco, CA
By this time I'd met my best friend Camilly, whose Dad had a house in San Francisco that he was almost never at for New Years. This year we went to go sing karaoke in Japantown for Camilly's friend's birthday, and we snuck alcohol inside the tiny karaoke room. I was focused on drinking a lot and singing a lot, as most of the people we were with were Camilly's friends, not mine.
I sang Anarchy in the UK by the Sex Pistols, and got so drunk that I peed on a street corner (on purpose, not on accident).
2012: Age 19, San Francisco, CA
By this time I was a sophomore in college, well accustomed to drinking and partying, so once again I was determined to drink a lot on this night. Of course, as is the theme of my New Years', I couldn't really get any of my close friends to be at the same place for this New Years, so I accepted an invitation to go to my friend Taylor's house party with all of his friends from college. I figured that maybe I could hang out with some of his hot fraternity friends and make it a fun night.
Instead, I pregamed by myself at my Dad's apartment, walked to the party, got wasted at the party, talked to a total of three people, fell down a flight of stairs, then left. I hadn't been having fun to begin with, so falling on my ass in front of the whole party felt like a good excuse to leave and not say goodbye to anyone. I drunkenly walked out to the street corner, called Camilly in Brazil and told her the story, and then had my sister come pick me up and take me home. She had to walk me up the stairs to the apartment.
2013: Age 20, San Francisco, CA
My junior year of college I had one of my best New Years' because finally all of my friends were in the same place. Camilly threw a party at her Dad's house in San Francisco, and the guest list was huge. On top of our group of friends (who bought the alcohol and came early to set up), we somehow invited our entire high school graduating class, as well as the class below us. It was truly a high school reunion, and everyone was friends and happy to see each other. We all drank drinks, talked to people we hadn't seen in a while, and danced in her living room.
A girlfriend of ours hooked up with this friend of a guy we knew, and their unlikely coupling was a huge source of laughs for the night. Some college friends of one of our friends started a weird makeout puddle on the couches, and we all laughed at some girl whose butt was showing. We ended the night by all trying to find beds and couches to crash on, and in the morning we got brunch at the Dipsea Cafe in Mill Valley, but I was too hungover to stand it so I made my sister come pick me up.
2014: Age 21, San Francisco, CA
Having had the party of the century the year before, I really wanted to do something fun for this year, but of course, the stars didn't align and not as many people I loved were around. My friend Chloe was there though (yay!) and she and I decided to go to a party at a rented-out bar deep on the north end of San Francisco that her friend from college invited us to. We had a few beers there, but quickly Chloe got way drunker than me, and I got bored. I didn't know as many people, and wanted to leave to go to a party our friends invited us to on the other side of the city, where more of my friends were.
There was a moment when Chloe and I decided we should leave soon, and I thought I saw her walk outside, so I followed. It turns out, Chloe had never walked outside, and now I was standing outside of a bar that was "at capacity" with a very rude bouncer not letting anyone in. It was 11:50 and there was no way I was getting back into that bar. I walked across the street and bought cigarettes, and then spent midnight on the streetcorner, by myself. Eventually I got back into the bar and convinced Chloe to leave, and then we took an Uber to the party across town.
It was 2am and finally I was with people who I actually wanted to hang out with, and I had fun until around 4am when we all decided we were done partying. I shared a cab home with about six of my friends from high school and Chloe went home with some guy she met at the bar.
2015: Age 22, Brooklyn, NY
This year I had no official plans and I didn't mind that. Unlike past years, I was very prepared to not be spending it with any of my close friends. Luckily some of my friends from college, Gabi and Mike, were in town, and Gabi was gonna throw a party at her Dad's abandoned apartment. That plan fell through and I offered to have everyone over at my place since my roommate is out of town. When I say everyone, here's what I'm talking about: Gabi and Mike, Gabi's four gal pals from high school, Gabi's friends boyfriend, and his four friends.
I loved seeing my friends from college but that was about all I loved about that night. By 1am I ended up putting myself to bed and just hoping people would leave. They did.
2016?
So I've realized that all I ever really want on New Years is to spend the moment where one year passes into another with people I love, drinking a lot, and having fun. My ideal night isn't out at some party or clubbing at some fancy venue-- it's with my friends somewhere lowkey where we have control of the night. In the past, it's been clear and predictable where I'll be when the clock strikes midnight, but going into 2015 I have no idea where I'll be at this point next year. It's most likely I won't be with all of my friends, and that's okay, because this one night out of the entire year doesn't have to be the best night of the entire year.