I guess I did have some YOLO moments, such as feeding the pigeons in Piazza San Marco in Venice.
Already the quarter-life crisis is old news. Ever since Drake rapped about it and Zac Efron tattooed himself these letters, teens and young adults are having their own YOLO moments.
What is YOLO? You Only Live Once.
There is a theory that this YOLO movement happened because of the recession and young adults maybe realizing what is important in life. This theory sounds like it fits nicely into my life: In high school, I kept up my grades and participated in as much as possible; in college, I worked at my school newspaper, got two degrees, studied abroad and worked my butt off every summer until graduation. Was any of that money saved? Nope, and I jumped right into the job market after graduation (thankfully, because then the economy tanked.)
Realizing I am not as bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as before, my 26-year-old self would rather get in all the adventures before the marriage/kids scenario. I missed my high school and college YOLO moments, so now I want to make up for them.
However, this theory for only living once has a caveat: These kids are doing stupid things. It has become an excuse to engage in bad or risky behavior. I am looking for a little risk, a bit of an adrenaline rush, but not in the stupid realm.
My boyfriend and I created a before-30 bucket list. It includes things as simple as donate blood (never done it), as smart as cut debt in half (student loans, you are the bane of my existence!) and as adventurous as visit New Zealand to see where they filmed Lord of The Rings, and backpack through Europe.
I will not be including any of these, though some make me chuckle:
So, just thought i’d let you all know that I had a YOLO moment in Paris – I FLASHED with a good friend.
— Nazma Raven Begum★ (@Chatterbox_Snob) July 13, 2012
11 year olds today: “Omg Iove smokin pot. I get like so drunk. YOLO!” Me when I was 11: “I forgot to feed my tamagotchi this morning.”
— TED(@itsrealTED) July 13, 2012
Getting a Yolo piercing in Newquay cause yolo
— taran-jade☺ (@taranjadewalton) July 13, 2012
I rarely think of the consequences of the action I’m about to do because #YOLO
— Ms. Pretentious (@MessagesFrom_Me) July 13, 2012
How do you feel about the YOLO movement? Is it another fad that will fade?
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