New Year's Eve is always hyped up to be a glamorous night full of partying and happiness over the much anticipated New Year. People go out, party, and dance the night away to celebrate the end of an old year and the start of a new one. Sounds fun, right?

All my life I was never allowed out on New Year's Eve, because as it is generally not the safest night, my parents worried about drunk drivers on the road and worried about my safety. So, much to my dismay, I always had to stay in.

This year a good friend of mine was throwing a party and I jumped at the chance to go - and surprisingly my parents said yes. My friends and I got ready together, went to the party, and had a good time. Sure, it was fun, but when I woke up this morning I felt like I completely missed New Year's, and here's why.

Every year when I wasn't allowed out, my family would always sit together on the couch and watch all the different New Year's celebrations going on all across the country. New York, Chicago, Las Vegas, San Francisco always shown on the news with various performers, hosts, and celebrations of the New Year. Watching the Times Square ball drop on TV was always one of my favorite parts of New Year's Eve. Being at home and spending time with my family always seemed like a boring way to spend the night, but really, it wasn't. Staying in, getting cozy, and hanging out with my family now seems to be the best way to celebrate New Year's Eve.

Going out last night made me realize that going out on New Year's Eve isn't what it's cracked up to be - at least for me.

It makes me sad to think that this was the first year that I missed the ball drop in New York, that I missed Dick Clark's Rockin' New Years Eve, that I missed hanging out with my family, and that I missed the way I always celebrated.

To me, it always seemed like staying in was the lame thing to do, and that it wasn't even celebrating the start of a new year. But now that I spent a New Year's Eve out, I can honestly say I really did miss the usual tradition.

So now I'll wait until next year when I can get cozy on the couch with a yummy snack, watch the celebrations in major cities across the U.S., and spend the last minutes of an old year and first minutes of a new year with my family.