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Thomas Cushman
Prof. Gammage
Engl 220
20 February 2014
#YOLO
You only live once or YOLO is a popular term that means life should be lived to
the fullest. There are several interpretations that would argue that YOLO means people
should live recklessly without worrying about the consequences of ones actions. Others
would argue YOLO describes a safe lifestyle where one should cherish life and not take
risks. These interpretations are too negative. People can YOLO without being
intoxicated, and they can do so without living in a box. YOLO is a positive saying that
should inspire people to do great things. YOLOing inspires people to go skydiving.
Anyone who works impossibly hard to achieve a goal and finally achieves it is
YOLOing. It encourages people to explore the world. Travelling to wherever you want
to go is YOLOing. Anything that is going to make a positive impact in society or for the
individual self is YOLOing. It encourages people to do incredible things not only
physically but also intellectually. People who invent new cures for diseases are living life
to the fullest as well. They are benefitting the world and it is amazing. People can YOLO
anywhere. If you are doing something profoundly positive then you are YOLOing. Two
prominent examples of this in society are David Finchers Fight Club and a YouTube
trend referred to, as People are Awesome. Fight Club is a very nihilistic movie that
touches on the YOLO lifestyle with its radical antics and profound message. The People
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are Awesome video series is as YOLO as you can get. People performing amazing acts
simply to show that they can or to inspire others to do the same is YOLOing at its finest.
People are Awesome is a YouTube Channel that posts inspiring videos annually
with a common goal in mind, to inspire people through adrenaline fueled acts of
athleticism. Their mission statement is as follows.
Awesome People Aspire to Inspire. We think too much and feel too little. More than
machinery we need humanity. More than cleverness we need kindness and gentleness.
The way of life can be free and beautiful. We all want to live by each others happiness,
not by each others misery. You have the love of humanity in your hearts
This mission statement encourages its readers to live life freely and fully. It also
encourages the YOLO lifestyle in a positive way. Life should be void of limitations set
by naysayers. According to this channel you should be the one setting your own limits
not your peers. Furthermore, these videos show that those limitations may not be as strict
as you might think. I had never fathomed some of the things these people were doing.
This channels goal is to show that people are performing extravagant feats and there is no
reason that you could not perform them as well. Obviously, a fair amount of experience
and will power is necessary to pull off a lot of these stunts but the general idea is it is
possible and if you are human you can do it. This thought process encompasses
everything that is good about the YOLO way of life. People are Awesome believes that
since everyone only lives once why not spend your life testing your limits by going
outside of your comfort zone.
Fight Club is blatantly Nihilistic in its societal observations yet it is beautiful in
the sense that it encourages change in an optimistic YOLO way. Arguably the most
famous quote from Fight Club demonstrates this idea perfectly. It's only after we've lost
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everything that we're free to do anything. This quote is blatantly nihilistic but it ends
with a sense of optimism and exploration. The idea that we can be free to do anything is
not nihilistic, it is exciting and YOLOesque. Fight Club is at times awe inspiring through
its nihilism and its optimism. The main character Tyler Durden acknowledges that life is
meaningless but instead of letting that thought process defeat him he decides to take life
by the balls and change the world around him. He sees the tyranny and meaninglessness
that surrounds big business and the media so he reacts radically. Blasting banks to
smithereens and creating a legion of deviants are things that Durden thinks are beneficial
to society and in a way they are. For example, Tyler helps a character named Robert
Paulson, a testicular cancer patient who suffers from swollen mammary glands as a side
effect of his cancer treatment. At the beginning of the film Paulson is a pathetic insecure
wimp who cries in the arms of random men at support groups. Paulson joins Fight Club
and finds an outlet to release his aggression, and he evolves into an adrenaline-crazed
titan. Durden puts it best when he says A guy came to fight club for the first time, his
ass was a wad of cookie dough. After a few weeks, he was carved out of wood. By
bashing in the skulls of fellow members Paulson is able to forget about his shortcomings
for a while and, as Durden describes it, he becomes a god. Durden shows that the world
is capable of change and simply watching injustice in society is unacceptable. Durden
YOLOs by seizing life and doing what he wants. YOLOing is all about getting out of
your comfort zone and he radically accomplishes this for himself and others.
The People are Awesome YouTube channel has the perfect collection of High-
Definition videos to watch if you are lacking motivation to get off the couch. It is
common for these videos to feature Skiers launching off of two hundred foot cliffs to
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their seemingly imminent dooms only to ignite a parachute and float ever so safely to the
ground. At the twelve-minute mark in the video posted above a group of base jumpers
leap off of the slick metallic roof a moving train that is racing over an enormous cliff.
They deploy their parachutes after jumping perpendicular from a moving train and
presumably land safely on the ground. There is an implication that what they are doing is
illegal because they are wearing brightly colored clown masks giving the viewer a sense
of debauchery. Furthermore, it seems that the passengers and conductor of said train are
unaware of what is going on above them considering the train moving at full speed the
entire time. Personally, I had never dreamt that that people could do this and to see it with
my own eyes in such amazing video quality is in fact inspiring. The beauty of this video
series is that it encompasses everything and anything that makes people look awesome. It
is a celebration of the human body and all that it is capable of. People are Awesome not
only praises extreme sports athletes but it also shows people performing everyday good
deeds. One video in particular shows a man rescuing an abandoned baby. This channel
clearly shows that People are Awesome.
Fight Club may seem like it has nothing to do with my positive definition of
YOLO when analyzing certain quotes. Tyler Durden makes a lot of depressing comments
regarding life in general. It's only after we've lost everything that we're free to do
anything. This quote among many others shows how Durden views life through a
nihilistic lens. However, midway through the movie Durden has a conversion where his
nihilistic pessimism deteriorates. He then becomes motivated to change the world around
him through radical acts debauchery. The goal of Project Mayhem is to undermine big
business and everything that is corrupt and oppressive in the world. The birth of Project
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Mayhem is when Durden evolves from his nihilism into his YOLOistic self. He does not
entirely abandon his Nihilistic tendencies but he does show that he is trying to make the
world a better place which is a very YOLO tenant that Durden upholds. I dont want to
die without any scars. This quote indicates that Durden does not want to sit back and die
quietly. He wants scars to show that he lived life aggressively and outside of his comfort
zone. I got in everyone's hostile little face. Yes, these are bruises from fighting. Yes, I'm
comfortable with that. I am enlightened. He feels that he knows something that everyone
else does not. He knows what it is like to seize life and truly live to your fullest potential.
Through fighting Durden reaches a state of Nirvana. He feels enlightened because he
goes outside his comfort zone and attacks life by unlocking previously untouched levels
of adrenaline.
The YOLO lifestyle is ever present in society and it can be a good thing. It is not
bad for people to live life to the fullest. In a sense it is good to make social change.
Maybe not to the extent that Durden goes but that is unimportant. Inspiring people is a
good thing and that is what Durden and the People are Awesome YouTube channel do.
Inspiration sparks action and change, which gives people the opportunity to better the
world around them.






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Works Cited

Fight Club. Dir. David Fincher. Perf. Brad Pitt and Edward Norton. 20th Century Fox
Home Entertainment, 2000.

"PEOPLE ARE AWESOME 2013 - 2014." YouTube. YouTube, 22 Nov. 2013. Web. 12
Mar. 2014.