Everyone wants to be happy. Parents want their children to have a happy childhood and a happy life, people wish newlyweds a happy married life, and when someone dies, they say, “He had a happy life,” as if that were any comfort to them. those who are already missing the person and who are very unhappy. Why is happiness so important to people? Maybe it's because humans are competitive by nature, and a person exaggerates their happiness so that others are envious. Maybe it's because humans like to be distracted by a story, and if they can believe that someone actually achieves perfect happiness, then they can have hope for themselves. What exactly is happiness? Nobody knows because everyone defines it differently. In general, though, happiness is an overall feeling of pleasure and satisfaction. If so, then happiness seems easy enough to achieve, but whether humans are actually capable of realizing that they are in a state of happiness is another question. Almost every major event in life is presented as a milestone on the road to happiness. happiness. Childhood should be a happy time where the child is protected and kept away from fear and danger. Getting a driving license is seen as a step towards the child's independence, his freedom, his happiness. Graduating from high school, going to college or entering the workforce is another step towards independence, freedom and happiness. People usually get married because the person they choose as their spouse makes them happy. Having children usually makes a person happy, hopefully. Hopefully the career you choose makes you happy, or at least makes you rich in money if not happy, maybe rich is best. I can't wait to retire after work... middle of paper... violence and wars which certainly don't bring happiness. It would also ensure that no one would go hungry, need medical care, or have a roof over their heads, because happy human beings would not allow other human beings to suffer such unhappiness. Perhaps human beings have a need to feel correctly identified happiness. It's just the way they go about achieving it that isn't right. Works Cited Dickens, Charles. Great expectations. Harper's Weekly, 1860-1861. Print.Haybron, Dan. “Happiness.” July 6, 2011. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Network. April 15, 2014..Howell, Ryan T. "Can't Buy Happiness?" 2014. Psychology Today. Network. April 15, 2014.PBS. “This emotional life: what is happiness?” 2009. PBS. Network. April 15, 2014.Robinson, Edwin Arlington. “Richard Cory.” Read literature and write arguments. UpperSaddle River: Prentice Hall, 2008. 192-193. Press.