yolo!

                                                                     YOLO!!

What is teenage hood if not the adventurous, often foolhardy, desire to test the limits of acceptable behavior—because hey, why not? YOLO!

YOLO', meaning You Only Live Once, is a viral quote mostly used by the teenage community. “YOLO”, popularized by the 2011 song "The Motto" by Canadian rapper Drake, is used as a self explanatory phrase to justify any, let’s say, not so smart activities by many teenagers nowadays. Our generation says, Life is short and we live just once, why not live it to the fullest and have all the fun we can. But it seems that our definition of fun and living to the fullest has broken the socially accepted ones, often inclining to behaviours which harm the person as well as the society.

Being a teenager was never easy, the strings of childhood are still attached and we are expected to act and think in a mature way, which give way to an indefinable pressure in a teenager and thus prompt them adopt dangerous ways of letting the steam off and show others that they are on their own and can take control of their life. But because we are in a stage of life where we can act mature and throw tantrums worth a 2 year old at the same time, our hasty decisions eventually come to harm us as well as others.

In the spirit of YOLO many teenagers indulge in alcoholism or drugs as they feel that this way they could prove to be masters of their lives. In 2009, about 10.4 million young people between ages 12 and 20 drank more than “just a few sips” of alcohol just for the feel of it. 5,000 people under age 20 die each year from alcohol-related car crashes, homicides, suicides, alcohol poisoning, and others. Let us not forget the criminal acts taken up by the teenagers as an added thrill to their lives.

So shall we conclude that YOLO is making teenagers’ lives a roller coaster of confusion and hasty wrong decisions??  NO.

It is the perception of it that makes us take the wrong turns. Firstly, it needs to be understood is that we should not live just once, but every day. Life indeed is short and thus it is smart to live in all moments of it.

Degrading ourselves by indulging in the fouls of the world is not yolo, it is foolhardiness. We all are trying to impress someone or the other at all times, be it our professor, parents or friends, but for a change let us try to impress ourselves. Be good to our own selves.

After all a balloon goes high up in the air not because of what is outside but because of what is inside!

I had read a quote somewhere saying “Be the person you would like to meet”

Let us all introspect, would we like to know a person who is indecisive regarding his future and keeps yelling YOLO as a justification for his behaviour?? OR a person, who keeps his cool, has a goal in life and strives to bring some change in the society he lives because you only live once?? Majority of us will have a look at the second person.

We all crib and grumble about how our country is degrading in its present condition. Poverty, malnutrition, overpopulation, rising crimes against women...you name it. Even as teenagers we are aware of them, but the anger that we harbour in our hearts and minds seldom comes out as action. We can in our own small ways make a difference.

Even as children, we dream of becoming great in our lives, so why not take the baby steps and be appreciated by others by, do some good while we are living our lives.  Helping an elderly to cross a road, giving a part of our pocket money to a child we see picking the rags for food, teaching our domestic help’s child....these don’t sound very difficult. Do they??

Now we know why we say....you only live once. Death is not the greatest loss in life; loss is when LIFE dies inside you while you are still alive.

Life is short, speak the truth, learn to say NO to the rotten practices , Forgive quickly, cherish life’s little joys, Love truly, Laugh till your stomach pains, And do all the good you can, for all the people you can......because...YOU  ONLY LIVE  ONCE !!!