Hedonists, We all Are?

Study, my mother said, so you won't have to go through what we went through. Study, my father said, so you can have a family without financial stress like us. So, that was what I've been doing for 15 years of my life. Study, I said to myself, so I do not continue our/my family in that direction. The more money the merrier. The more money, the safer you are. That's what I believed. Now, I think college has had a profound impact on my understanding of I guess.. why, really? It made me rethink about that purpose, that objective.

This term, HEDONISM, I learned in my Philosophy class during my Freshman year has come up a lot in my mind.

he⋅don⋅ism
   /ˈhidnˌɪzəm/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [heed-n-iz-uhm] Show IPA
–noun
1. the doctrine that pleasure or happiness is the highest good.
2. devotion to pleasure as a way of life: The later Roman emperors were notorious for their hedonism.

This term comes to mind a lot especially when I am at parties: any kind, whether it is kick-back, dances, smoke-outs, etc. Happiness through various means. Happiness is centralized within these realms. Happy Happy Man, that man on Telegraph and Bancroft raising a board of commentary, happy happy happy. Is he a hedonist, or is he making a message about our own happiness and order?

Are you happy that last weekend you were able to make-out with the person you really liked?
Are you happy that you you had such a great meal when you were high?
Are you happy that you can say you were part of that generation to experience the election of the first "Black", or mixed race, President?
Are you happy that Happy Happy Man made you smile because he has such a cute phrase? Oh Oh, listen to his speech. He has an accent. Is he insane? Does he know what he's talking about? What's this gibberish on his board? Is he insane?
Are you happy that you can consider yourself smarter than these group of people? That you go to Berkeley? That you can proudly show off your school's spirit and symbol of hierarchy by wearing CAL on your blue/GOLD sweater?

Is it just a hoodie? Is it just a dream? Is it a movie? An RPG (Role Playing Game)?

Happy Happy Happy.. let's smoke.. let's get drunk... it feels "so good". Keep on "feeling good."

Work Work Work.. but for what? for ourselves? for our family? for who who who

Happy Happy Happy. Hedonists, We All Are?