YOLO

 “Life is for the living, you only live once” — really, do we? I don’t think we live only once. I think we live many lives within one lifetime.

We live first as toddlers — tiny humans learning balance, language, trust. Our world is small then: cartoons, scraped knees, bedtime stories, the comfort of being carried. We know nothing about bills, heartbreak, disappointment, or grief. That version of us is innocent, untouched, until then the toddler quietly phase out and the child is born.

As children, we begin to dream loudly. We want to become doctors, singers, astronauts, presidents all at once. We laugh carelessly. We cry openly. We believe adults know everything hence, we bombard them with think-out-of- the-box questions. Life still feels soft around the edges. Then childhood fades, and another version of us takes over.

Teenagehood arrives with confusion and discovery laced with bravery. Suddenly, identity matters. Acceptance required. We begin to question ourselves, our appearance, our worth. Friendships become deeper, heartbreak becomes real, and the world slowly introduces us to pressure. We start carrying invisible weights no one prepared us for until teenagerhood phase out, too.

Like a Tsunami, Adulthood hits without warning. No room for preparation. One moment you are asking permission to leave the house, the next you are expected to have life figured out.

You become an undergraduate, wandering through lecture halls with dreams bigger than your pocket. You survive assignments, deadlines, anxiety, uncertainty, and the silent fear of “What happens after school?” You learn independence in fragments. Some days feel exciting, other days feel painfully lonely.

Then that version dies the day graduation arrives. Another life begins — the unemployed phase. Perhaps one of the most humbling versions of adulthood. Sending applications. Waiting endlessly. Smiling through family questions and comparison. Watching peers move ahead while you pretend not to panic. It is a season that tests confidence, patience, and identity. A phase where many people quietly lose themselves before finding themselves again.

Eventually, life changes once more. You become employed. Responsible. Busy. You wake up tired, sleep tired, exhausted during the day but somehow, you keep pushing to God knows where. You begin paying bills you once thought only adults worried about. Survival becomes routine.

Then another transformation happens. Some become husbands. Some become wives. You stop living only for yourself. Suddenly, another human calls you home. Your fears change. Your priorities shift. You become softer in some places, stronger in others. You begin to understand your own parents differently. Sacrifice becomes natural

While some are dealing with parenthood, there's you, who’s an uncle. An aunt. The “big cousin.” Younger people look up to you the way you once looked up to others. Your advice carries weight now. Your presence matters in ways you never noticed before. They ask you for money their parents won't give them because you are the cool Aunt/Uncle.

Years pass. Hair greys. Bodies slow down. Memories become longer than plans.

Then comes grandparenthood, perhaps the gentlest phase of all. Watching generations continue through children and grandchildren. Sitting quietly while life moves around you. Becoming a living archive of stories, warnings, wisdom, and survival.

And after living through all these versions- comes the final version.

Death.

Which is ironic, isn’t it?

And maybe that is why people shout “YOLO!” before making reckless decisions, booking spontaneous trips, falling in love too quickly, quitting toxic jobs, texting the wrong person at 2 AM, or buying things their account balance begged them not to.

Because somewhere deep down, we understand that life is temporary.

But perhaps YOLO was never entirely accurate. Maybe it should be:

“You only die once.”

Because living? Living happens repeatedly. What you cannot afford today, you can afford tomorrow or next year, even, as long as you're alive.

So yes, take that trip.

Start over.

Apply again.

Love again.

Reinvent yourself again.

After all, You Only Live Once…

or several times before the final goodbye.

Stay Loved 
Naz