4 Reasons You Don't Need a New Year's Kiss

New Year's Eve is one of those holidays that you either love or hate, typically depending on how old you are and your lifestyle. In my life, New Year's Eve has never been that grand of an occasion, which is why I put very little emphasis on creating the perfect night or making sure my first few seconds into the new calendar year are absolutely perfect.

Even though I've had boyfriends throughout the years during this holiday, things have never seemed to line up to where we could both be in the same place at the same time. Whether because of conflicting holiday travel plans or work schedules, each year I ring in the new year kiss-less.

Thankfully, I've never really cared. For a holiday that emphasizes staying up till midnight when most of us rather be curled up in a blanket in bed, the idea of throwing on an itchy sparkly dress and too high of heels should be warning enough that everything will not go as planned. Instead of getting down on yourself as you scream 'happy new year' while avoiding the awkwardness of watching your friends make out with strangers, remind yourself of all the reasons why you are totally okay with saying hello to the new year without a kiss.

You will be disappointed. 

Don't believe me, believe science. Studies show that the more emphasis you place on something, such as New Year's night, the greater the likelihood that when revisiting the memory you will find you were less happy about the outcome compared to people who were less preoccupied with how much fun they could be having. Did that all make sense? Basically, the more work you put into having fun, the less fun you will have at the end of it all. The more pressure you put on dancing the night away and finding a boy to kiss, the more time you will spend thinking about it. Relax, enjoy the time, and don't let your fear of not having fun keep you from having some damn fun!

You don't need the stress. 

Everyone preaches about the new year welcoming new healthy habits, attitudes and goals. Meanwhile everyone spends the first few seconds of the year stressing about who they kissed, where their friends walked off to and if everyone around them is having more fun? Save yourself the drama and ring in the new year with friends, because there's no reason to start of the year worrying about something that so small and unimportant.

It's not romantic. 

The sweaty guy at the bar is not the John Cusack in the movie that is your life. Most likely he's been hovering around your group of friends trying to figure out which girl is also looking for a last minute kissing buddy. You never hear about people who met on New Year's Eve, kissed at midnight, and realized they were meant to be. Because things like that don't happen outside of a movie set! Kissing a random stranger out of desperation isn't something you would do any other night of the year, so don't lower your standards just because it's a holiday.

STD rates are rising. 

Yeah I said! Your story about spontaneously kissing someone at midnight will lose all its romantic details the moment you have to sit in a too lit doctors office to get tested for that thing you thought was a cold sore but just isn't going away. STDs don't simply target people who are sexually active, you can contract herpes by kissing and herpes if for life ya'll! If you don't know who you're kissing, you don't know who they've kissed. Before making out with a random guy ask yourself, is this all really worth it?


What's your opinion on needing a New Year's Eve kiss? Do you only participate if you have a significant other or are you determined to take part in the fun regardless of your relationship status?