New Year's Eve is underrated. Maybe it's because it's so close to Christmas, or maybe people are sick of hearing "New year, new me!" But I really think the holiday is a lot better than people give it credit for.

Christmas is great- my favorite holiday, actually. My family of approximately 15 million (slightly exaggerated number) gets together at my house for Christmas Eve. We listen to the craziest stories and eat the best food. Everyone looks cute and there's more than enough hugs (and alcohol) to go around. There may or may not be a photo booth involved.

And the day of actual Christmas- my family wakes me up around 10 (I will sleep as long as possible). And I get yelled at for opening my presents too slow. I like to open one, try it on or set it up or figure it out, and then move on. For everyone else, it seems like an unnecessary part of opening a gift. We head to my grandma's and wait for my cousins and continue the gift opening. We laugh and eat and tease each other.

As soon as it's over, though, I am hype and ready for NYE. The sparkles and glitter make my heart flutter. I'm fully aware how dramatic that is, and I'm fine with it. This holiday, unlike all the others, is all about the people around you. Of course, we make our resolutions, which are usually about ourselves. But when it comes to the actual Eve, we choose who we want to be with based on how we want the year to go. I think that's incredible.

Everyone is excited for the new year. It's a new beginning, and most of us could use one. If you look around during the countdown and the ball drop, you'll see smiles and arms waving in the air and people searching the room for the person they want to kiss. During those 10 seconds, time feels exceptionally slow. It's nice to take a moment to say goodbye to the last year. To feel the relief of knowing that you made it through all of the bad, and to feel the excitement of knowing you'll feel some of the same joys.

Once the ball drops, you get to smooch the one you love. It's a romantic way of saying, "you haven't pissed me off that bad yet... I'll keep you." And even if you don't have someone to kiss, you can hug your friends and send the same message. I think maybe I just like the holiday because it's about being around people you love and letting them know you love them, and I don't think we do enough of that.