Every summer has had a certain slogan or phrase to summarize how the summer should be lived for my best friend and me. There was the summer of erasing and numbing ourselves with partying only to leave us with the infinite young immature traumatizing twisted stories. There was the summer of Jimmy John sandwiches, waiting tables and daydreaming about vampire boyfriends and magic to take our minds off the intense workload of college. And now with the summer of 2009 already upon us, we needed something more riveting, more adventurous and more spontaneous. It was decided in the car after much thought the slogan would be 'CARPE DIEM.'
Carpe Diem is a phrase coming from the Latin poem by Horace meaning, "Seize the day." Horace, born on Dec. 8, 65 B.C. whose real name is Quintus Horatius Flaccus, was a Roman lyric poet. Originally born in Venosa, he moved to Athens to study Greek and philosophy. He later joined the army (Brutus was the general at the time) and fought as a staff officer.
Carpe Diem comes from the poem Odes Book I. The original phrase is "carpe diem quam minimum credula postero," which fully means "seize the day and place no trust in tomorrow." If you break that phrase down even further it describes how because the future is unknown and a mystery, one should appreciate the meaningfulness in the moment and live only for the present. Time is continuously fleeing.
It was first translated into English by Lord Byron in his 'Letters.' It was written as, "I never anticipate,carpe diem - the past at least is one's own, which is one reason for making sure of the present."
The phrase can also be related to the book of Isaiah from the Bible, which describes how people should, "eat and drink for tomorrow we die." Or also relating to Ecclesiastes 8:15, "then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry.'
We loved the sound this carpe diem. However, maybe Horace, from the Roman age, or these people from the Biblical days could run around drunk throughout the village, yelling and seizing every second of life. If I followed that rule at Ball State University, though, I would be arrested in a second and would have to deal with court and fines, which would be impossible to pay off with the economic recession. There were limitations that needed to be taken.
However, we loved the idea. Somehow it didn't matter that we weren't in a big city. Maybe we couldn't go see Broadway musicals or hike through mountains, but instead we'd go to the gardens on our days off from work and absorb the summer's fresh air at dusk, catching fireflies, walking along the canal, playing in the Persephone foundation, going to a Socrates shrine and reading the quotes on truth and discussing all the politics in the world.
I used to think to live in the moment I had to do something big. On a typical night in college it was essential to live in the moment I had to go to a party, chug beer, throw a plastic ball into cheap red cups, socialize and watch people hump each other to blaring music about getting high. Then I wake up the next day, hugging the toilet and saying, oh it's OK because look at all the fun times I am having with my so-called "buddies."
Going into my junior year at Ball State and as my classes have grown more demanding than ever, my idea of carpe diem has changed. Seizing the day has become listening to people tell me their stories. It could happen while I'm at the gym, talking to a personal trainer on what inspired them to earn their certification or while I'm at the house of an 81-year-old musician who onced played at Carnegie Hall with the St. Louis Symphony or when I'm waiting on a table at my restaurant. People are very eager to have their stories told. Listening to all these stories, reading biographies and memoirs, reading the newspaper, watching movies, seeing theatre; after awhile, you just feel inspired to want to create something of your own. And while you are creating something of your own, for me it is writing a book, that is my definition of seizing the moment: to do something you feel is worthwhile, fulfilling, and enriching.
Whenever people hear me say I go to school in little Muncie, I constantly hear, "oh that stinks." "Must be boring." But I truly beg to differ. You make your own happiness wherever you go. Carpe diem can be applied to every person in every city of the world. And I shall seize it indeed.
Write to Meira at mabienstock@bsu.edu
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