Black Me Out, 2017

Les Amis. Photo Nadia Perron.

Written by Nadia Perron

It seems to me that everyone is looking forward to New Year Eve. That perfect party with the people we love, where we can all move on to the next year, and finally get a “fresh start”.

And let’s be honest, it never turns out to be exactly what we expected. Whether it’s that Happy New Years kiss you wished for, that never comes, or you lose Monica again because she had way too much fun at pre-drink, or Chelsea dropped her ticket for the coat check somewhere and now you are just stuck there forever.

Les Lover. Photo Nadia Perron.

Conclusion: expectation rarely meets reality.

This year we choose to celebrate in an apartment, just a small group of friends, so we could avoid all of this. You would think that nothing can go wrong that way. But life clearly has a thing for surprises. What we didn’t expect this year was a major blackout on our street just in time for the party. And somehow it managed to make our night so much better! We learned that all you need for a great party is candles, a laptop fully charged, a camera, a lot of booze and let’s be a little cheesy here, the people you love.

The Crazy One. Photo Nadia Perron.

We sure did abuse that black out. One of us was taking pictures in the dark of all the epic moments he could find and trust me there were more than enough. One was outside enjoying the blackout with the neighbors, which he met for the first time that night. We even found two sitting on the kitchen floor eating snacks. I believe they were hiding so they could eat all the food. After an intense session of signing at the top of our lungs and dancing like there was no tomorrow, it was time for the countdown. We were all together, standing in circle in the dark, no noise other than us counting down to the New Year. It might not have been what we expected but it was perfect that way. It was just one of those moments where you are aware that there is no better gift then being alive.