Everyone knows the term YOLO. Even teens post #YOLO all over their Instagrams and Snapchat stories. The motto can be interpreted in different ways, both positively and negatively. How did this term come to be?

YOLO was introduced in the early 2000s in the television show Average Joe. Thanks to the Canadian rapper, Drake, his song “The Motto” mentioned the acronym several times. “You only live once- that’s the motto [n*****]…YOLO”

Ervin McKinness was a 21-year-old aspiring rapper, who died minutes after tweeting YOLO. McKinness posted a tweet on Twitter that said,”Drunk [so much] going 120 drifting corners #f***it YOLO” at 1:19 AM. He then tweeted,”Driving, tweeting, sipping the cup d*** yolo. I’m turning it up.” He was not the one driving the vehicle at the time of the tweets.

At 1:40am, McKinnes’ 2005 Nissan Sentra crashed in Ontario, California at Creekside Drive and Haven Avenue. According to the San Bernardino County Sun, the car ran a red light and skidded out of control into a wall. He was announced dead at the scene, including the other passengers in the car.

In that same car Marquell Bogan, 23, and Dylan George, 20, both of Ontario; Jonathan Watson, 21, of San Bernardino; and JaJuan Bennett, 23, of Rancho Cucamonga lost their lives. Four of the five passengers were announced dead at the scene. Bogan was declared dead at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Fontana at 2:24 a.m. According to the San Bernardino County Sun, Watson was the one driving the vehicle at the time of the accident.  Was that the once he meant in his YOLO? What a waste.

There are many videos on the internet with people doing dumb things in order to get internet famous. These are great/stupid examples of people taking YOLO too far. Yes, some of these videos have gone viral, but with huge, risky costs. For example, a while back a woman was at Yellowstone National park and was taking a group selfie in front of a bison. She had turned her back on the animal and it came up and punctured her body. She had to be airlifted to the hospital with severe injuries. YOLO, right? Stupid.

Everyone has at least done something risky in their life. You don’t have anything to match your shirt? Oh well, it was mismatch day already! YOLO! Maybe you wore mismatched socks on a school day to be different. YOLO! These are some examples of how YOLO is a positive, fun thing to do for young people.