YOLO

I first came across the term "YOLO" sometime last year, probably in the same conversation with my cousins in which they explained "planking" and "owling" to me, and to be honest, my first thought was that it was such a dumb thing to say. You only live once? True, but what kind of person would say that? Someone just trying to be cool, someone about to do something dangerous and potentially fatal, or someone who is about to have an amazing life experience? I didn't even figure out that it was an acronym until months later; I thought it was just a saying, and yolo sounded good enough and easy to say. Now, however, it isn't just a witty thing you say when you're about to parachute out of an airplane. Twitter and Facebook and whatever are so littered with the term that it's lost its meaning, and seems to be just an excuse to do something dumb, like "no offense". But what these adrenaline seekers/adventure seekers, whoever they are, don't realize is that you also only die once.

You only live once. Okay, true, I guess, depending on your religion. I can see how that phrase could have come up-make the most out of life, don't let opportunities slide by, and have fun. And then there's the whole negative and cautionary side of that-don't waste your life with one dumb decision. So what is that twenty-something year old thinking when he jumps off a bridge just for the fun? Is he trying to prove that you only live once? Because I'm pretty positive that he won't be alive once he hits the ground.

This is the kind of thing that came up when I Googled "you only live once"

Okay, nice. A good understanding of the cliche meaning, nothing too annoying. But this is what I got when I Googled just plain "YOLO"

Look at that! Even babies understand YOLO! How horrific!

"YOLO" isn't just a simple term anymore, it's an epidemic that probably claims more lives than it saves despite its subtle and sneaky warning. Hopefully, people will realize that if you really want to hold true to only living once, you won't swim straight into a riptide, jump out of a tree (or anything, really), or not wear your seat belt in the car. Hopefully, my faith in humanity can be restored.

I really couldn't resist...