YOLO

I just thought I should put this up here in case any of us are questioning our actions this weekend..

Why YOLO is a Legitimate Motto

How many of us have heard drunk biddies and bros on a Saturday night pulling the YOLO card?

How many of us have been the drunk biddie or bro who’s pulled the YOLO card?

As annoying as it is, YOLO is an essential part of our adolescence. It is necessary and a healthy part of growing up. Assuming everyone in this room is under the age of 25 (besides the man teaching this class) your prefrontal cortex is not yet fully developed. This is the part of the brain that, after the age of about 25, keeps us from making stupid decisions. It lets us think of the consequences of our actions, and logically weighs the outcomes with how much satisfaction we’ll get out of it.

A huge misconception that people have when they hear someone scream YOLO is that that person is referring to going hard on a school night ~ But YOLO is about doing things you usually wouldn’t do because give me one good reason why you shouldn’t? If your decisions aren’t negatively affecting your life or others then why the hell not? You might regret it a little bit in the morning but that’s fine. That’s how we grow.

How many times have you stayed up all night to finish an assignment you’ve known about since syllabus week? Or how many times have you eaten an entire pint of Ben & Jerry’s and regretted it immediately after? Have you ever thought to yourself, hmm, maybe it wasn’t the best idea to text my ex last Friday night… And how many times have you thought with your head in the toilet that okay, well maybe those last four shots were not my best idea.

We are always making bad decisions.

But it’s okay! I’m here to tell you that it’s okay! It’s okay to make mistakes, because that is how we learn and grow.

So what is the line between healthy risk taking and things you do that are life changing you ask? I am not telling you to share needles with strangers, do it without protection, or get extremely intoxicated and drive 90 down the interstate. But small risks here and there really are good for you. They are a healthy part of our maturation.

YOLO for you might mean skydiving, traveling the world, or just pushing your mother to her last nerve, but it could also just be you texting your crush to see what they’re up to this weekend. Or putting down the books to go to McDonald’s at 1 am even though you know you have to wake up for your 8 am class the next day.

Sleep is for the weak, and as youth we should be strong! We need to spend more time doing what we want to do instead of only focusing on what we should do.