Nobody REALLY knows how to behave on New Year's Eve; it isn't just you.

1. The first three things you need to do are the following: remind yourself that a. conversation is something you improvise, so it's okay to wing it; b. people are not thinking very much about what you look like since they're worrying about what THEY look like; c. nobody will think worse of you if you decide to stay home, order a pizza, and watch an old movie--not unless you think terrible things about yourself for doing so.

2. Remind yourself that it's already New Year's Day somewhere else. The pressure is off immediately, right? Somebody else has already done something worse than you will in all of 2012. You might as well have a good time. Why waste a Saturday night on anxiety, especially if you don't have to get up early tomorrow morning?

3. Encourage yourself to think about what you can improve upon during the next year but don't give yourself ultimatums. Maybe you should simply try not to make things worse. That's always a good start! "This year I won't pillage or plunder" can be your motto, for example. Unless you're a pirate, this should be an easy promise to keep. Keeping promises is a dandy way to begin the New Year.