NEW Ball Drop on NEW Year’s Eve in NEW York City — Modern Cinderella (Part 1) 🪩🩷🗽

The Experience

The end of the year met me with a few unexpected twists and turns, and staying upright while metaphorically going down Love Is Fun Mountain proved more challenging than anticipated. Much of what I had planned for CouplesTherapy.co in December and January fell through the cracks.

In the spirit of practicing resilience—and with the help of our holiday game, Slides, which did manage to post before all mayhem broke loose—I indulged and gave myself a few extras.

If you’re anything like me, when the going gets tough, it helps to find something to look forward to—something to keep you going.

Synchronistically, that’s when I came across an article titled History of New Year’s Eve & the Times Square Ball on the official Times Square website. To my surprise, this year—now past tense—there would be a NEW ball dropping on NEW Year’s Eve in NEW York City. New, new, new! One symbolizing Interconnectedness and carrying the Spirit of Eternal Positivity—Infinite Joy, Infinite Light, Infinite Beginnings. That’s when I heard the Universe whisper, “go.”

Given our December theme at CouplesTherapy.co—Let It In, Light It Up—with our disco ball wrapped in a pink heart celebrating Teggy’s transition from love and life into what’s next, the next couple of days I felt the article actually shouting rather than whispering: “GO!” And just like that, a lightbulb went off.

In December, I would keep my eye on the ball—literally: the Constellation Ball. No matter what happened, getting to Times Square to see the shiny NEW disco ball in the sky—that big ball of energy—became my motivator and my goal. When I arrived, I would let it all in, light me all up, and send my love to Teggy, the years past, and welcome a bright new year ahead.

Neurobiology Interlude: The Brain’s Reward System — Mesolimbic Pathway

Let’s pause and anchor why setting a destination, staying focused, and keeping your eye on the ball works—scientifically.

Neurobiologically, dopamine rewards pursuit. It fuels wanting, drives, launchings, and goals. Let’s hear it for destinations!

Conversely, opioids and serotonin reward arrival—the biology of landings, pleasure, bonding, relief, love, and social satisfaction. Let’s hear it for arrivals!

Knowing I was pursuing something millions of others were—a global ritual of connection, shared meaning, and focus, honoring the passage of time in one of the most energetically charged places in the world—there was no stopping me.

Off to the airport I go!

In Pursuit:

First things first—book the flight and find a hotel. Nothing fancy. As close to the Ball as possible. ✓
Next—stop at the storage unit, slide the final box of my home into place, lock it, and exhale. ✓
Then—airport, boarding (on time), wheels up. ✓

I arrived at LaGuardia Airport at approximately 6 PM ET on New Year’s Eve—last minute, spontaneous, and slightly under-planned. Precision would’ve helped, but this night had other plans. (More on precision and Time Balls in Part 2.)

When I land, I book a ride and head into the city. My driver asks what I’m doing for the evening.
“I’m going to see the Ball drop!” I say.
He laughs and asks whether I brought an adult diaper.
“Excuse me?” I say.
He explains that people have been standing in barricaded pens since the wee hours of the morning, pun intended — no exits, no bathrooms.
I smile. “I’ll figure it out!” ✓

Hotel shop essentials: One teal beanie bedazzled with New York (matching the teal winter coat I unearthed from my now packed-up Miami closet), one pair of pink mittens, zero adult diapers. ✓

“Which way to the Ball?” I asked the hotel staff.
Giggles. “NYPD barricaded the whole area off.”
“But I came all the way from Miami!”
More laughter—then directions. Through the glass doors I went. ✓

Cold air hit my skin. A block later: Belgian spiked hot cocoa stand, a cute foreign barista, a shot of Irish whiskey, and extra whip. ✓

I headed toward Times Square with a bouncy, empowered stride, confident I’d weave through the crowd—especially solo. A private New York soundtrack played in my head until it scratched hard: barricade. Cocoa nearly sacrificed. Saved. Barely. ✓

More locals. More questions. More giggles at my optimism and naïveté. I keep walking, assured that an opening will present itself — only to encounter more barricades, more NYPD, more gridlock. Horses, cars, bicycles, boots — the city was fully mobilized. ✓

No problem. Keep my eye on the Ball. Stay in pursuit. I didn’t come this far for nothing.

And then—the plot twist.

Another Neurobiology Interlude: Spontaneity and the Brain’s Reward System

Evolutionarily, dopamine gives extra credit to exploration, discovery, risk-taking, and improvisation. Dopaminergic reward increases with novelty, uncertainty, and possibility. Spontaneity delivers all three at once—a triple shot.

It amplifies arrival, too. Opioids and serotonin hit harder when outcomes are less predicted, intensifying satisfaction, connection, and delight.

Let’s hear it for a mesolimbic triple shot!

Plot Twist: Cinderella 2.0

I see it—and forward motion stops. I’ve arrived… at my second stop, and it feels so good…

A modern horse and carriage—a big German man dressed as Santa Claus, smoking what smelled like weed, pedaling a carriage through Manhattan—adorned with a ridiculous, misspelled neon pink sign, the word NEW at least spelled correctly. It was absolutely perfect.

Classic Cinderella had to leave the ball before midnight or risk becoming a pumpkin.
Modern Cinderella had to make it to the Ball before midnight or risk missing the Spirit of Eternal Positivity—Infinite Light, Infinite Joy, Infinite Beginnings.
Single woman in New York. No prince required.
Just a destination, a focal point, and a modern steed. (Foreshadowing February’s Horse & Carriage theme, by the way.)

“Where to?” Santa asked.
“To the Ball!”
On-Santa! Giddy-up—and away we went!

Dopamine surged. Novelty + uncertainty + possibility ignited.
Time. Of. My. Life!

Frank Sinatra crooned. Manhattan sparkled. We pedaled through crowds and I reclaimed Christmas after unexpectedly having to cancel my trip to spend it with family, and spending it packing my bright colorful home home into dull brown boxes.

We arrived seconds after the Ball officially dropped—but it didn’t matter. The streets stilled. The city suspended itself. The moment was mine.

Everything went silent. All I could see was the Ball—luminous and electric—filled with the awe-struck gaze of one million people in Times Square and a billion more worldwide. The destination gave way to my arrival.

I took a deep breath. For me, in that moment, the Ball dropped. My shell cracked. I felt my heart open. I let it all in. And it lit me all up. Memories of Teggy flipped through my mind with our pink disco-ball-filled heart ornament spinning above head.

Cinderella had her glass slipper. Mine was the arrival itself—intact, embodied, basking in the glow Eternal Positivity alongside fellow travelers, wanting and then receiving the same reflection.

We made it!

Final Neurobiology Interlude: Couples, Singles, Spontaneity, and the Brain’s Reward System

Dopamine rewards desire, novelty, and pursuit. Opioids and serotonin reward bonding, safety, and arrival.

A satisfying relationship—and a healthy nervous system—needs both.

For couples, connection thrives when routine and attachment are balanced with play, novelty, and shared adventure. Safety without pursuit falls flat; pursuit without safety burns out.

Singles share the same mesolimbic mechanisms. Routine provides grounding; curiosity and spontaneity keep life alive. Stability without adventure stagnates; adventure without grounding destabilizes.

This is why our motto at CouplesTherapy.co—Love Is Fun!—is intentional. Fun keeps dopamine online while bonding deepens, allowing connection to feel alive rather than obligatory. Fun isn’t frivolous; it’s a regulatory ingredient in sustainable love—with a partner or with yourself. When something is truly fun (not masquerading as it), that’s a signal we’re thriving—and thriving is the point.

Whether partnered or single, joy is sustained when routine and novelty, connection and pursuit, arrival and movement coexist. When a pursuit meaningfully leads somewhere, the excitement of departure makes the arrival sweeter—more on what happens when that arrival doesn’t come, and the crash that can follow, in another blog.

Let’s hear it for positive focal points, spontaneous take-offs, and smooth landings!

Upon Arrival:

If you work with me therapeutically, you know I say emotions are energy in motion. This year’s Times Square NYE drop was one big, lit-up ball full of it—dancing in sync with sound, moving in rhythm with millions, sparkling through Waterford crystal etched with Infinite Light, Infinite Joy, Infinite Beginnings.

Like the moon, the Constellation Ball vibed high—shining brighter and spinning faster than the circular hotel doors I somehow managed to slip through without incident.

And I did it.
I let it in.
And it lit me up.

Cinderella 1.0 went to the Ball to find the man—not a bad idea.
Cinderella 2.0 goes to the Ball to find herself—her joy, her light, her beginning—inside a city of people wanting the same thing.

The Ball became both anchor and adventure. My imperfect pursuit delivered a triple shot: dopamine in the destination, opioids and serotonin in the arrival, and an extra shot of both for the courage to be spontaneous—met by the cosmos in return. Science and the celestial conspired to deliver the perfect hormonal cocktail with a twist of modern fairytale.

For the rest of the year, I’ll return to that moment: feet on the floor, hand on my heart, eyes lifted, deep breaths in—remembering the eternally positive, cosmically interconnected spirit of the Constellation Ball. The quiet power of pursuing something good, even and perhaps especially when snow hits the fan, and the warm feeling of arriving—filling my cracked-open heart with warmth and delight.

My plan wasn’t flawless—but my intention was clear. I set a focal point, kept my eye on the Ball, stayed positive, and trusted the rest would unfold. And it did. That’s the magic of structured spontaneity: set the destination, do what you can, and trust that the sweetness—the surprises, the bittersweet moments—will meet you halfway.

And what if that’s the point of being cracked open—not to shut down, but to open your heart and let the light shine through.
To be vulnerable.
Undefended.
Available for connection.

Oriented toward love—for the world, for possibility, for ourselves, and for each other.

Even now, remembering it, the corners of my mouth lift in a conspiratorial smile—vulnerable and confident, stepping into January with a different feeling in my chest. One I’ve never quite felt before.

One that feels like I’m cracked open—for good.

A NEW Year Invitation for You and Your Boo

Instead of setting a New Year resolution this year, I invite you—and your boo, if you have one—to set a focal point. A real or metaphorical destination to keep in mind—whether it’s staying focused on the positive, letting it Slide more often than not, repairing ruptures quickly and creating room for infinite beginnings, or pursuing your first second chance to see the Ball drop in one year’s time – in Times Square on the Fourth of July, for the United States of America’s 250th birthday in 2026!

And when life delivers unexpected twists and turns, feel your feet, take a breath, and keep your eye on the ball—confident that you, that we, and the cosmos are in it together, that we’ll all arrive on time, or maybe a few minutes after, no matter what.

Wishing you a year full of Eternal Positivity—Infinite Joy, Infinite Light, and Infinite Beginnings.

Happy New Year!

Love,
Jessica Hansen, LMFT
Founder, CouplesTherapy.co

Coming Up Next: Part 2

Part 2 explores the history of the Ball Drop—
its roots, how it began, and how it evolved.

(I find it interesting, grounding, and fun to know where our symbols and rituals of connection come from.)

Stay tuned.