Week 2 Reflection: "Life on the Edge"

The acronym YOLO, which stands for “you only live once” may be a more contemporary version of the old saying “life on the edge”. I remember when YOLO madness took over America back in 2012 and young adults, if they can be called that, used it as an excuse to partake in dangerous and reckless behaviors. Whether it’s staying up all night watching Netflix instead of studying for an upcoming test or trying weed at the hip hop concert your justification was YOLO! The mentality was that you’ll never get a better chance to try something than in the present so you’ll regret it if you don’t. Go hard, and have no regrets about it. This is what living life on the edge is all about… albeit taken to an extreme and abused by immature people. Living life on the edge is living to the fullest. It means that you should take advantage of all of your opportunities and live every day like it’s your last. This means you should be doing the things you like, things that make you happy.

I saw a cool sign up at Winter Park that said the worst day on the slope is better than the best day in the office. I’m not advising everyone to quit their jobs and spend all of their time leisurely and lavishly. However, it is important that within the context of your day you take advantage of all opportunities to take a leap off the edge to find your personal happiness and take charge of your own life. We should live without regrets by doing the things we want in that very moment, even if we perceive it as a risk (or “unsafe” thing to do). This may mean we feel uncomfortable at times and have to spend time outside of our personal bubbles but we will end up thanking ourselves for it. Whether this task is asking out a girl that you find cute even if you perceive her as being out of our league or trying a new food that you haven’t had before, by convincing yourself to take a risk, you may very well be rewarded with a date with your dream girl or experience a new sensational experience in your mouth. Or you could be rejected or vomit at the horrid taste of the new food… but you’ll never know until you do it! The chance of the great is definitely worth it, but hey if you prefer to settle for a mediocre average life that's perfectly fine too. And also, don’t let yourself fall into the trap of telling yourself “I’ll get around to it” or “I don’t have time right now but when I do have time I’ll do it”. Living life on the edge means that you grab life by the horns and go get it… NOW!

I personally am pretty resistant to change. That’s just who I am, I enjoy routine and order. However, was I going to let that stop me from taking advantage of the opportunity to study abroad for a semester? Hell no!! Although there were certainly uncomfortable elements to it. Traveling to a foreign country alone, not knowing anyone where I was going, being immersed in a different culture and educational system, all made me a bit nervous at first. But I quickly overcame all this and had a fantastic time. I met new people, quickly adapted to the norms of Australia and I have memories that I’ll never forget thanks to “living my life on the edge”. Heck even putting my cap on the kangaroo shown above was risky. Despite being the incredibly strong and muscular man I am (wink wink), kangaroos have naturally huge forearms from birth and it could have knocked me out if it had wanted to. But hey, this picture is so cute and definitely worth the risk right? Well I think so at least!!