Is Happy Selfish?

I've talked about the pursuit of happiness yadda yadda before, so this may be repetitive (but I don't feel like reading back over the previous posts to figure it out; yes I'm that lazy).

This past weekend I was having a discussion with someone who's been down about some stuff in their life. By conversation I mean drunken ramblings on their part and angry talking on my part. Good times. . .

Wait, the actual point: they were discussing how decisions they've made are "irresponsible" or "selfish" because what about when they get married, have kids. . .

Stop. Just stop. I get it; we're in our 20s, 30 seems like a blink away, and a lot of our friends are getting married and settling down. There's been a societal reversion back to a time when not being married and having kids in your 20s may imply that you're too much of a party animal or just behind the times. This is complete bullshit. While there are plenty of successful relationships that start during this time in your life, you still have a lot to discover about yourself. In fact life is just one big journey to discover who you are, and on top of that you're constantly changing. This I know I've spoken about before, but it might need repeating.

Unfortunately the thing that really sent me over the top was how my counter-argument (how everyone should live their life in a way that makes them happy, particularly prior to the whole married with kids thing) was dismissed as cavalier or irresponsible. When you're married with kids maybe you should stop hucking 100' cliffs or skinning extreme avy terrain. That's probably a good idea. But when you're unattached and getting into debt for the thing that makes you happiest in the world, well I think that's worth it. Particularly when it's not something extraneous like another pair of skis when you already have a few perfectly good pairs, but instead something like surgery without which you'd be benched. I'd happily go into tons of debt if they could figure out what's wrong with my knee and I could fix it.

So what's the point of this rant? You're not the other party in this conversation, my pleas or arguments really can't mean much, if anything, to you. My point is simple: be happy. It's harder than it sounds when pressures, from society to friends to family to your job, are constantly weighing on you and pulling you in different directions, attempting to get you to make the "right" life choices. In trying to be your happiest you're going to piss some people off, I guarantee it. But people who get angry at you fro trying to be happy? Yeah, maybe you should reevaluate their significance in your life. You're also going to make mistakes, make the wrong choice for you, but don't give up.

That's what the Steeper Side is to me: happiness. That's why I'm constantly climbing towards the steeper side of life; I hope you do the same, whatever that may be for you.