virtuous

what does it take to make autumn happy?
a common thought is that happiness is obtained from abiding by the cardinal virtues (wisdom, justice, courage, moderation). callicles would argue that virtues and such are not a true way to obtain happiness; such things are enforced by the weak so that the weak can control the strong. things such as equality are taught to everyone so that the weak can have as much as the strong, whereas if we were not taught about fairness and equality and justice, the strong and powerful would have everything, while the weak would suffer. and why should the weak have as much as the strong, really? they did nothing to earn it.
while i can see where he is coming from, in the end, i think i disagree. i think there is some value in the cardinal virtues, and perhaps that really is the way to becoming a "good" or "happy" person. i think a just person would certainly be more happy than an unjust person, and so on and so forth.
if this is the case, if one must live by these virtues to become a content person, then why is autumn not happy? is she not just? or perhaps she is not wise?
i think the root of all of her problems, truly every problem autumn seems to experience as of late, comes from her lack of courage. autumn is a coward, and as a result, autumn suffers greatly. autumn does not have friends because she is afraid to speak to people, and she does not live independently because she is afraid of being out on her own, and i fear she may never even be successful in art because she is afraid to take risks to better what she creates.
so autumn has come to realize what it is that makes her unhappy, she has found the root of her trouble, but how does one overcome such an obstacle? courage is a difficult virtue to live by. if one is unwise, really all they need to do is attend school or become more aware of the world around them. to become just, all one must do is be honest, true, and fair. moderation? simple, because we all know that too much of a good thing results in something not good, so one must be rational about how much is enough, and how much is too much.
but how does one correct their lack of courage?
i have yet to figure it out.