HOWL HERITAGE

by Hugo Gonzalez and Cassidy Lucas

[singlepic id=41 w=150 h=150 float=left]YOLO? Seriously? Our class of 2013 should not be remembered for this ignorant quote. YOLO has become an excuse to commit crimes, play pranks, and even ruin your own life because “you only live once.”

I first heard the expression in an offensive rap song by Drake. When I first listened to the song it made no sense. It was rambling profanity about smoking pot, and having one night stands with prostitutes. Is this reference even something that should be allowed at a school? I seriously do not think this has any relation to the class of 2013; I don’t know about you, but I don’t do those things.

Most of the YOLO posts on Twitter or Facebook are published by someone who has messed up their lives and are using the quote, YOLO as an escape to justify their mistakes. Why in the WORLD would we want to take THAT and turn it into a motto for kids that are moving onto the next chapter of their lives? When do you ever see the word YOLO associated with someone actually preparing their lives? We should know that having a good, prepared, long life is more important than screaming ‘YOLO’ at the top of our lungs while doing something we are going to regret.

If anything, YOLO should be a precautionary statement that means, ‘Hey, you only live once.’ You should be out there preparing to make that one chance you get the best it can possibly be. I’m not trying to be a party pooper, but there is a time and a place to risk it all and take a chance, but our entire senior year shouldn’t be summed up as a risk.

I fear for the future of our classmates and generation. What kind of future can we expect when we are supposed to look at people like Drake and lil Wayne and use their words as guide lines for our lives? I think Yolo was chosen for a motto because there wasn’t anything better suggested; I believe the vote should have been held at the beginning of our senior year in a class room with the opinion of our fellow students to support us. Our class of 2013 should not be remembered this way. -Hugo

[singlepic id=55 w=150 h=150 float=left]You only live once, that’s the motto. The phrase has been around for a long time. Just because some rapper abbreviated it to “YOLO,” doesn’t mean the original meaning has been eliminated. Anti-YOLO HHS Facebook pages have sprung up hating on the motto. Students have introduced petitions and attacked our senior class ASB over this. I am beyond proud that we have a class full of passion. But it’s time we take the passion and invest it into something useful, instead of bashing a motto full of truth. The passion our senior body is emitting is amazing, but I’d personally love to see that passion put to work on your senior project or post-high school goals.

YOLO isn’t an excuse to screw up your life. Instead, it should be a reminder that you only have one lifetime to make this world a better place. Leave behind a legacy of courage, strength, honor, love and service…not a rap sheet of stupidity, selfishness, cowardice, hurt and hate. When I take a look back at my high school years, I’ll be thinking about my successes in high school and the growth I made, the changes I’ve made as not only a person but as a student.

Yes, the term might be overused. And it can also be misused, as an excuse to do stupid stuff. You might not like the rapper, and it may have not been your first choice when choosing our senior motto. But I can guarantee that if the term “You only live once,” was chosen to be our motto instead of “YOLO,” the reaction from the senior class would be significantly different.

We should all be more focused on actually graduating rather than sitting around sulking over a motto we’ll more than likely laugh at in a few years. Take the saying “Carpe Diem!” for example; which means “seize the day.” The meaning of carpe diem is similar to many other proverbs used in the English language for pretty much just living your life to the fullest and to make worth of the time you have on earth because it’s short. You only live once, or YOLO, completely falls under this category.

YOLO is a great reminder to always live your life to the fullest because you’ve only got one life to live. Don’t take advantage of this life because at any time it could be ripped from your hands. Embrace YOLO; it shows not only our success as students but as people all together and I don’t think that by any means it should be changed. -Cassidy