YOLO!
With that being said, what does YOLO even mean? Its on bracelets, clothing, hash tags and even quoted in the media. If you are going to say an aphorism, then shouldn’t you know what it means?
Drake, (That would be hip-hop artist and actor-if you can call him that-Aubrey Drake Graham) made it famous in his song “The Motto” featuring Lil Wayne. The lyrics include the phrase “you only live once” and the term YOLO along with the repeated chorus stanzas “We ‘bout it every day, every day, every day.”
But the term was used even prior than hip-hop artist Drake by Frank (That would be real actor and songster, Frank Sinatra)
In 1965 Frank Sinatra turned fifty years old, and when he was asked about the milestone he replied with:
“I expect to swing for 50 more. You only live once and the way I live, once is enough. I stole that from Joe E. Lewis.”
Just like the evolution of dance, YOLO is the evolution of the phrase ‘carpe diem’ (seize the day).
It’s used to inspire courage and bravery, or to justify doing something embarrassing. It is not something you should say while getting sent to the principal’s office with a referral!
My daughter found this picture for me. It's not one of my students, although the year's not over yet :)
In 2013 it became so famous even Saturday Night Live did a spoof on it.
Hey, why not?...You only live once!
