You only live once, AKA YOLO. If you were to ask me my thoughts on the phrase YOLO, I would probably say I have never followed that motto and never would. I live my life very maliciously. I always associated YOLO with people reasoning with themselves for making poor decisions. However, this train of thought shifted my junior year of college.
As soon as my first semester of junior year started, I noticed something had changed. I wasn’t as motivated as I used to be. I felt like there was nothing to look forward to. This was probably due to the junior year slump that most people face. Or the fact that I have a super-packed schedule. If my friend told me to go do something, I would probably decline due to my schedule and growing to-do list sitting on my desk. This all changed when one of my favorite artists decided to have a concert near Philadelphia.
On October 5th, less than 4 hours before Billie Eilish’s concert, I was texting my friend. The next thing I knew, I was on Ticketmaster looking to see if there were any available tickets for her sold out concert. To my surprise, there was! I called my friend immediately and we bought them. The purchase went through and we were officially going. I rushed off the phone digging through my clothes hoping I had something that would fit this concert…and I did! I quickly got dressed, did my makeup, and ran out the door to meet my friend in her car. We sped away from campus to the concert. My heart was racing, my mind was clear, and I was filled with excitement. For once, I was not thinking about what school work I had to do, what tasks I had left for my internship, or anything else. My focus was solely on this experience and I was excited!
This was the best concert and best experience I have had in a while. It was well deserved. I put myself first for once. I finally put my feelings and my enjoyment BEFORE school work and my job. This is when I realized that the phrase YOLO is not stupid. It is not cliche. This motto was exactly what I needed to live by as I enter my twenties. I don’t want to grow old and regret my youth. I don’t want to look back and realize that I wasted my youth being glued to my phone and filling my time with work and school. Don’t get me wrong, work and school is important, but not more important than myself and my happiness. School should not dictate my entire life. I should be able to live by my rules, my beliefs, and my happiness.
I want to embody the phrase YOLO. I want to live my life to the fullest with no regrets. I want to go out when I want to, hang out with my friends, and just be the best version of myself without anything holding me back. I am finally happy, I am no longer stuck. I am still productive in school and giving great work for my internship, but I am also Shannon. I finally feel like myself.