For Justin Thebeau, one of our Juniors here at Sunlake, New Year’s Eve has always been special to his family. Every year, his household would always throw a New Year’s party for all of their friends, and this time was no different. Though he reported that the party size was a bit smaller than previous years, it was still packed full of good food and fun games for his friends and their families to enjoy.
As the evening began, Justin’s home got ready for the guests to arrive. He and his family put together a spread of snacks and dishes for everyone to enjoy. The living room was where most of the partygoers spent their time, with the TV already tuned to the news channel for the countdown hours before it would begin. According to Justin, his family owns multiple pinball machines, and a dart board set up in the living room, where all of the adults would play shuffler or dart games. Justin himself would either be playing the pinball machines with his friends or hanging out in his room with them, blaring loud music while playing video games.
As the final minutes of the year ticked away, everyone gathered in the living room for the big countdown. The TV was tuned to the live broadcast, and the clock was getting closer and closer to midnight. Justin said that he was glad that he could spend New Year’s with some of his friends, even if not everyone could make it this year. Justin’s parents handed out party blowers, and after the countdown all of the kids (Justin included) blew into theirs for “a good 4 minutes after the countdown was over.” As one might have assumed, the noisemakers were taken away soon after.
Even after the countdown, Justin’s night wasn’t done there. Once everyone was heading home, one of his friends was allowed to sleep over for the night. While it was considered a “sleepover” by his parents, Justin and his friend stayed up all night talking in a call with some of their other friends and playing video games. Or most of the night, anyways. After leaving the call, Justin threw in the towel and went to bed. He said that “when I woke up, my friend was STILL on his switch. I asked if he even bothered to sleep at all and he said ‘No, why?’”
Justin also shared his resolution that he made going into the new year. He’s focused on physical fitness, making smart choices about his health, and improving both academically and mentally. Here’s to hoping that the new year goes well for both Justin and everyone else here at Sunlake.
