“YOLO” doesn’t have to mean “be stupid”

The climax of the crazy teenage “YOLO” phase may have passed, but it hasn’t completely disappeared. At first I thought it was cool. Then I realized so many people just used it as an excuse to be insanely stupid. Then I decided I’d bring my own meaning to it.

In case you are unaware, YOLO is an acronym for You Only Live Once. Phrases with similar meanings have been around for ages, and this specific one came to light in the past few years after some rappers used it and brought the word into the spotlight. 

Originally, YOLO could be seen as another variant of Carpe Diem (seize the day), with the underlying message that you should live your life to the fullest. However, as the popularity of this catchphrase escalated, the meaning took a shift for the bad. On twitter and all over the internet, YOLO was used to justify rash decisions and in-the-moment choices that didn’t include a lot of any common sense. Examples include a young rap artist who tweeted “Drunk af going 120 drifting corners #F***It #YOLO”, who died from a car crash moments later (source: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/young-adults-tweet-yolo-live-engaged-reckless-behavior/story?id=18027279#.UbfG-EJQ-i1). Similar hashtag occurrences include ones relating to breaking the law, treating others poorly, adopting bad habits, and excusing unhealthy behaviour.

All over the internet, there are news articles and blog posts about the reckless people teenagers are becoming based on this word. YOLO has brought about many conversations of maturity and responsibility in youth, and I believe we should be taking a stand to turn this image around!

Let’s go back to the phrase I said was very similar to YOLO: Carpe Diem. Now that YOLO has a bad face, maybe looking at it from a different angle can help us get the positive message it does contain. There’s no doubt that things change in an instant. Life flashes before our eyes. Friends move away, relatives die, situations change. This is where YOLO could and should come in to play. Thinking to just snooze away the weekend and search around on tumblr? How about you try something new. Connect with people.

My teacher, who’s actually really cool and very much human, hates YOLO because some older students were using it as a reason to be idiotic, but I wish everyone would realize the good behind the word. We need to all realize that things don’t last forever. Please, just be you, don’t miss your chances, seize opportunities, and open and enter as many doors as you can. Use YOLO the right way. Make it meaningful. Give it power.

I say we take this phrase and use it to prove the good in ourselves and in the world, rather than reinforce the stereotype of teen stupidity.

And if you don’t agree with all this, well, YOLO I guess?