Project Motion: Redefining the YOLO Attitude by Sabrina Blanco and Michelle Dioquino, Assumption College San Lorenzo
The famous—or, infamous, depending on your stand—acronym YOLO [You Only Live Once] was extremely popular throughout 2011 and 2012, mostly amongst the youth. However, it was also widely discussed among adults and became subject to criticism. #YOLO doesn’t quite make it to the top trends anymore, but it is difficult to completely remove it from modern vocabulary. While the message has a good ring to it and it comes off as a modern version of Carpe Diem or 'Seize the day', more often than not, it is used to justify reckless behavior. YOLO says: ‘Hey, you only live once, so let us use this one life to do something unprecedented without thinking too much about the consequences.’ What better
reason to do something outrageous, unexpected, or even possibly illegal than facing the truth that you only live once? Saying “YOLO” is just like asking a rhetorical “Why not?” and not caring for an answer. Carpe Diem, in contrast to YOLO included the philosophy that life was meant to be lived in its fullest, which is a concept the latter lacks as it mistakes taking risks with taking opportunities. Eventually, it evolved to encompass laziness, because apparently having other things to do aside from studying counts as making life worthwhile. The idea behind YOLO is clear enough: do not live your life in fear of making mistakes, because this is your one and only life and there is no time for doubt. But, if you look past that glorious façade, YOLO becomes selfish. In both offline and face-to-face, you can find several encounters with YOLO used not just as a motto but even a verb. You don’t have to look far to hear quotes like: “I stayed up to finish watching that TV show instead of doing that project. YOLO!” or “Dude, I didn’t study. I’ll just have to YOLO the test.” It has become such a casual term for students and young people with responsibilities these days. It has become the anthem of the narcissists and it inflates big egos who believe nothing should compromise their enjoyment. That being said, it cancels out its original intention. YOLO, without any interference or connotations, is admittedly rooted on a solid fact. People, in fact, only live once. Still, powerful words like these are like pieces of Lego bricks that anyone can rearrange and stick together to please themselves. YOLO has become less of a philosophy and more of a lifestyle. But the people handed the pieces to build a Lego tower aren't experts at figuring where all the pieces should be; at least not yet. They are clumsy and clueless and incompetent, so they fumble with it and come up with a different image that vaguely
resembles something of the original context. Still, they own the valiant effort and work put into piecing it together, so in their eyes it is a masterpiece. What about the audience? What happens to the crowd, the public, once they have received the message? What are they supposed to do about it? What is the message after all? The youth hasn’t figured that out yet. So, the criticism comes as a shock or unsolicited advice they would rather ignore. Why does that teacher keep bugging us about reciting instead of letting us sleep? Why won’t Mom let me go to the party? What does it matter if we're too young to be doing something illegal if society deems it cool? We aren't implying that all the youth conform to the YOLO lifestyle, but chances are, you, dear reader, are likely guilty of it as well. You are a suspect in the crime of vandalizing and painting over the idea of a fulfilled life. You still hold the can of spray paint, but we aren't here to sentence you to death; rather, we are going to hand you a brush to redo the masterpiece the wall once held. As crazy as it sounds, your life isn't centered on you. It branches out into something bigger than you. You are a skipping stone that creates a ripple effect but you must be careful not to trample any fish in your path. In better words: other people are affected too, and even though this is your only life, their lives cannot be redone after you’ve altered them with the choices you make. No, this does not mean that you have to abolish taking opportunities completely and return to your comfort zone where no damage at all will be made. We are merely inviting you to take on a new perspective on YOLO—one that is not centered one the Y but more on the OLO.
When you’re going to buy those new shoes on impulse because YOLO, think about the Yolanda victims who waded barefoot through floods to search for their loved ones. When you’re going to make a two-paragraph book report font of size 14 just so that it can fill up a page because you’re too lazy to submit quality work and because YOLO, think about the author who wrote the book you have to analyse and remember that they went through so much just to have their message heard, which surely you feel the same about. When you’re going to toss your Styrofoam cup into the closest garbage bin because it takes time to remember the difference between biodegradable and non-biodegradable and YOLO, think about the hole in the ozone layer the fumes are going to make as an increase in the world’s temperature. If you think that your life matters, you are absolutely right. If you say that it is your life and you are in charge of the decisions you make, you are once again correct. But you must stop before you think that everything you do affects you alone. Your choices affect not only you, but also the other lives yours will touch. We only live once, and one of the best ways to make our lives count is to direct our positive actions towards each other.