Paige Smith  |  Online Editor

“Go on, lean in. Listen, you hear it? ‘Carpe.’ Hear it? ‘Carpe, carpe diem,’ seize the day, boys, make your lives extraordinary,” John Keating (Robin Williams) encouraged his students in the 1989 film “Dead Poets Society.”

Aug. 11, 2014, was the day that Robin Williams passed away, and in honor of his life, the words “carpe diem” and other memorable quotes from this film and others were posted all over the Internet in social media statuses and on the news.

The social media world paid homage to the legendary actor and his many roles that inspired so many to make their world the best they could with the limited amount of time they had.

While the film may be over 25 years old, the advice to “carpe diem” is used today as it has been for thousands of years. How do we make our lives extraordinary when it seems that we are buried in homework, a 24/7 Internet world, work and just life in general? Here are some ways to get away from it all, live in the present and “seize the day.”

The Meaning

“Carpe diem” is the tagline for many photos, tattoos and travel guides, but there is more to the phrase than just those two words. The full phrase is “carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero,” which means “seize the day, put very little trust in tomorrow (the future).” The phrase originated in 23 B.C. from one of Horace’s book of poems (Book 1, number 11).

The abbreviated version of it may seem like such a clichéd choice of words, but once you examine the entire phrase, there is a much larger truth to it.

As we go about our daily lives, we do not know what the day will have in store. Sure, you may have it all planned out, but plans are bound to change. You can plan for your entire life, but it may not go the way you intended.

However, the term can be misinterpreted or sometimes misused. Don’t believe me? Look up #carpediem on Instagram or any other social media platform and see for yourself. Most of those probably don’t qualify as “seizing the day.”

A majority of the photos on social media with that term are more “YOLO”-type posts than anything else, and sometimes shouldn’t even qualify as that. Let’s make this clear real fast: “Carpe diem” and “YOLO” are two different things.

The term “carpe diem” is a call to action, to not procrastinate, while “YOLO” tells you to take the risk and jump into something, or rather off of something.

The historical and popular term isn’t there to get a student out of doing homework, a parent out of not being responsible or getting any other individual out of doing something productive; it is there for society to reflect upon life and do the most possible today to make the future better.

Living Out “Carpe Diem”

A few weeks ago, Dr. Sylvia Hart-Frejd came and spoke at one of APU’s chapel services. She talked about technology and how it affects people’s lives today – which, of course, it does.

Do you or people you know get freaked out if the cellphone reception isn’t good somewhere? The feeling of not being connected scares this society. Many people would love to disconnect from the world for a few hours or a few days, but human minds don’t function the way they once did because they are more connected with technology than before.

Hart-Frejd stated that according to a report by Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers’ annual Internet Trends report, people look at their phones 150 times a day. How many times have you checked yours today? Or even while reading this article?

These studies, just like many others, go to show that society is in a different place than it was even a few decades ago. Whether that is good or bad isn’t the point here. The point is that society isn’t looking at the moments in front of it, happening right there; it is focusing on how to simply make it through on a day-to-day basis.

My “Carpe Diem”

Four years ago, I took a journey that changed my life. My parents, my brother and I traveled across the world to adopt my youngest brother, Jonathan. I was in a junior in high school and trying to focus on AP classes, extracurricular activities and the many other things going on in my life.

At that same time, my AP English class was working on a project that my teacher titled “CARPE DIEM.” I loved the idea of this and four years later, I felt that need to reflect back on this journey of my own “carpe diem” and what that truly means as we get ready to go out into the “real world” and learn to live a meaningful life.

So I traveled to China and did my project. While there, I tried to take in each moment and tried to understand what “carpe diem” meant for me in each context. In the beginning, I was looking for and thinking about all the wrong things – how to make the most of the moment, even trying to force it.

It was when I finally met in a crowded, dimly lit conference room my brother Jonathan, a young, quiet child with an innocent yet captivating smile, that I began to realize what the term truly meant.

Many of us spend our lives trying to force the moments we think are most precious and held the most closely to us when really it is those little moments that are unplanned and unaccounted for that we don’t realize until later have changed our lives forever.

For me, the highlight of my trip was meeting my new brother and realizing how much God can do. In this way, my trip became more than just feeling the need to grab a photograph on the Great Wall of China to post on Facebook.

The Bible

While the term may not be seen in the Bible, there are passages calling for one to enjoy the moments life provides.

In Ephesians 5:15-17 Paul states: “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.”

Time gets taken away from us so quickly that while we are busy trying to plan for the future, we miss out on the present. We wait for a moment to come and miss others for the fear of missing the ones we “want,” but not recognizing the ones that we have with us already.

Proverbs 12:24 says, “Work hard and become a leader; be lazy and never succeed.”

In order to be present and focus on the future, one has to work hard, be proactive and not procrastinate. If one is constantly putting off the tasks that are there to help guide and make one successful in the future, one will never get there. This verse fits perfectly with showing the difference between an individual that can take the moment and “seize the day” rather than “YOLO” it.

Moments of “Carpe Diem”

“My two friends and I drove seven hours through the night, hiked 10 miles into the Grand Canyon and jumped in outrageously beautiful waterfalls,” said junior social work major Hailey Underwood.

Underwood has had many moments of taking the leap of faith and living her life to the fullest. From traveling to different countries, interning in Portland, Oregon, and spending next summer in Spain and traveling through Europe, she is taking her time now and getting ready for the future.

“I like the idea of trying new things, exploring new cultures and learning about other people. For me, the best way in [sic] doing that is by taking opportunities that present themselves.” said Underwood.

At the end of the day, she would encourage everyone to enjoy the little moments.

“I think that some of the risks I took in going on those trips or in taking on those roles has positively shaped my life,” said Underwood. “I know going on a 20-mile hike is not for everyone, but the concept of being grateful and viewing the grandeur and beauty of life is quite a privilege. I would encourage everyone to get out of their context for a bit.”