It is Not Necessary to Ring in the New Year Trashed

     I can't say I think people who drink alcohol are bad people. I know a lot of great people who have a drink or two but I can say I believe alcohol is bad for people. In my mind there's nothing positive that comes from it. My point for this post though is not to really talk about how good or bad it is for someones health it is more to point out my confusion as to why people think getting trashed on New Years Eve is the way to celebrate ringing in the new year.

     As New Years Eve approaches I hear some people talking about how they plan to get complete wasted on New Years Eve.They seem to think that is the way to ring in the new year. I hear some saying how it just isn't New Years Eve if they aren't wasted. That baffles me to no end. Why is it important to get wasted to celebrate the start of a new year? I do not understand our societies fascination with the idea that you have to be  mentally out of control to truly enjoy something.

     My experience with drunk people on New Years Eve is that many of them end up fighting, crying or passed out. My ex used to get drunk every New Year's Eve and while there were a few times he was awake to ring in the new year, most of the time he was passed out before it rang in. When he was awake to ring it in he was sickening and you know that New Years Kiss...well uh... no thank you! Then the next day most trashed  people don't even remember ringing in the new year. If they do remember it is in a cloud of fog from the hangover they feel.

     I don't even understand those who think they have to make a toast to the new year with alcohol. What is the purpose of that? Is it just some kind of strange tradition that people have? Why not make a toast with grape juice, especially if you don't even like the taste of alcohol. It is better tasting and you remember what happened the next day. Yes I know just one toast won't get a person drunk but most people don't start with that one toast, they are already trashed before that one toast but want sober people to toast with them with alcohol. Maybe it helps them feel better about themselves for being so obnoxiously drunk.

     I cannot even remember the last time I touched alcohol, being married to an alcoholic soured me on the taste or smell. I don't even like to be around drunks anytime especially New Years Eve. Some of the best times I've had ringing in the new year actually were bowling one night, a sledding party when I was a teenager and playing games with friends. I did not let the drunk people around me ruin my fun when I was in mixed (drunk and non-drunk) company, my ex to be specific. Most of the time he was not even a part of the final celebration and the rest of us, the sober ones, rang in the new year and remembered it so we could tell about it the next day.