“YOLO!” You only live once. And while that phrase really annoys me, it’s true. Living your life will be the longest thing you ever do, but it is also something you only get one shot at. Although I’m not a fan of people using the phrase as an excuse to do drugs or get completely wasted, I do appreciate the awareness it creates to stop waiting and start living your life.

My personal choice of motivational words is “Carpe Diem,” or “seize the day” in Latin. I heard this term for years, but it was not until high school that I actually understood the phrase’s meaning.

It was toward the end of my junior year when I decided to start taking control of my life and directing it in ways to achieve my dreams. My senior year was all about coming out of my shell. My friends and I participated in all the senior pranks. We had numerous escapades driving for hours through “the sticks.” We even planned to go skydiving for my 18th birthday.

Ever since then, I have not stopped chasing after my dreams and am creating new ones at every corner. I found my motivation in “Carpe Diem,” but if YOLO works for you, go for it. Don’t use it as an excuse to get wasted or high off the latest drug; use it to extend your life and memories.

I love adventure-seeking and the adrenaline rush that comes along with it. Before skydiving, I was commonly asked why I would jump out of a perfectly good airplane. My answer: Why not?

The same answer really goes for everything I do. Why not? If someone has a feasible answer to that question, then yes, I do reevaluate my plan. But rarely has my mind been changed in regard to adventures I have taken and plan to take in the future.

Now the whole money thing, yes, that will slow down your ventures, but learn to work with it. Start saving up for something you want to do. It builds the excitement, and you truly feel like you earned the right to do whatever it is.

I believe in living in the now. What if you don’t make it past tomorrow? Will you have lived the life you wanted? Now don’t go and blow your savings: Be smart about it, but live a little while you’re at it, even if it is something small.

From bungee jumping to getting a tattoo, the more I cross off my list, the more I add. This may be the writer in me, but I love having experiences that create insane stories. When presented with opportunities, I jump at them. You never know where they will take you or to whom they will introduce you.

I have the cliché desire to go and change the world, but isn’t that what Marquette is preparing us for? St. Ignatius said, “Go and set the world on fire.” So that’s what I plan on doing.

My passion for adventure has connected me with amazing opportunities to “be the difference.” And I don’t know if I would be where I am today without deciding to break my routine and actually live.

Go. Start. Carpe Diem. YOLO!

Shoshauna Schmidt, Senior,
College of Arts & Sciences
[email protected]