YOLO: The Modern Carpe Diem

By: Alex 

Graphic by Alex 

We’ve all heard it, the famous mantra, ‘you only live once.’ But for me, YOLO is much more than just a term coined by a rapper to make his song sell more records. For me, YOLO is the modern Carpe Diem (Latin for "seize the day"), and I’m so glad it’s become a part of our society. With so many new conveniences, it is so easy for our generation to live passively. Today, we can accomplish just as many things by sitting on our couch as we can going out in the world and participating. Nowadays, we can use these conveniences as an excuse not to participate in real life; it’s an easy way out.

Seizing the day is a term that’s become lost in a world where things are handed to us. Thanks to the popularization of YOLO, people are now realizing that you really do only live once, and there are a lot of things you should just get up and do instead of waiting for them to happen. As silly as it sounds, there really is so much truth to this motto.  YOLO has encouraged me to try things that I would have never done, and I’ve never regretted any of it.

Yes, there is definitely such a thing as too much YOLO-ing. You never want to do something that could put your life in danger. But on the other hand, you have to take risks if you want to YOLO in the most authentic fashion. So even if something is new and scary and maybe even a little crazy, if I feel safe doing it, I’m going to try it. My best advice is, as long as no one dies, it’s worth trying.  

I was talking to my friend on the phone the other night at 3AM, distraught over how much I sometimes miss out on because I don’t live in the city. She lives in Boston where there are plenty of opportunities to YOLO, and she said, “no one is stopping you from doing anything you want. You can go climb a tree right now, you can go to Taco Bell and eat all the food you want. You can go in the middle of the street and wave at cars. You can do anything. You just have to want to do it.” And I thought, she’s completely right. No matter where you are, there is always an opportunity to YOLO, and every YOLO moment makes for experience, which makes for a really awesome story. So, the more I YOLO, the more I learn about the world and myself. It’s true that every experience makes us better people and gives us more of a base to speak from.

I’ve learned that I have so much more to lose if I don’t go out and take a couple risks. So next time you’re contemplating actually doing something or just passively going through life, remember my mantra, ‘you only live once,’ and think again about trying something new. Seize the day. You won’t regret it.