It’s tattooed on Zac Efron’s hand. It’s hashtagged in hundreds of tweets every day. It’s 2012’s “swag,” the fresh new way to live every day like it’s your last.

YOLO — or “you only live once” — is a new saying that gained popularity after rapper Drake used it in a song. Though it’s overused by those under 18, the concept is underused in Whitman’s bustling halls, where questions about upcoming tests are just as likely to be heard as those about weekend plans.

As Drake raps, “you only live once, that’s the motto.” In overachieving cultures like Whitman’s, the concept of yolo is important to remember. Students today are so set on achieving that they forget to take time to relax and actually enjoy high school.

All the time spent working leaves little room for sleep. The average high schooler only sleeps about 6.5 hours per night, almost three hours less than what they need, according to a 1999 study by Stanford University. Students spend so much time doing homework and focusing on college that they can’t even get enough sleep, one of our basic human needs.

But even if we aren’t working, we’re still up late. As I’m writing this at 11 p.m., almost 150 of my friends are online on Facebook, a testimony to the endless distraction of the Internet. When you can scan gossip blogs about Snooki’s pregnancy or read tweets about Justin Bieber’s birthday with a couple clicks of the mouse, it’s easy to see how you could put off doing homework or sacrifice sleep. And especially at Whitman, putting off homework can get you impossibly behind on your workload.

The term “yolo” is the maxim of risk takers, those who try to convince their friends that trying to sneak onto the school roof is a better use of their time than studying. Though some people take the lifestyle to an extreme by doing dangerous things like driving recklessly or binge-drinking under the guise that “you only live once,” adopting certain aspects of the yolo lifestyle could help overstressed students who have trouble seeing the big picture.

Students who spend too much time worried about their future don’t even realize that their present time to have fun is slipping by. The internet is distracting, and homework is pressing, but spending your whole life sitting in front of the computer can only be harmful. Instead of spending the afternoon scrolling through inane Facebook posts, spend the time working and then make time to relax.

It’s important to remember what Drake says. Rather than spending hours studying or on Facebook, use that time to unwind. After all, you only live once.