The Fragile Butterfly of Happiness

СОГБОУИ «Лицей имени Кирилла и Мефодия»

Essay

A Fragile Butterfly of Happiness

Выполнила: Львова Ольга Евгеньевна,

ученица 8 класса Б

Руководитель: Хапаева Елена Владимировна,

учитель английского языка

Смоленск 2017

Happiness resides not in possessions,

 and not in gold, happiness dwells in the soul.

Democritus

Are you a happy person? Have you ever thought what happiness is? Today I want to talk about this extraordinary and unusual, but wonderful and marvellous feeling.

Let us discuss this important and controversial issue. I believe, first of all, it is necessary to give a definition of this phenomenon which is essential for every human being. To do it, it is better to turn to different Russian dictionaries.

1. According to the dictionary of  S. I. Ogeghov «happiness» is success, luck, feeling of full and supreme satisfaction.
2.  The dictionary of  V. Dal  says that «happiness» is  a talent, destiny, desire and well-being.
3. By  the dictionary of N. Abramova «happiness» is  a victory, chance and bliss.

I suppose the main thing that unites these definitions is that happiness is a such a feeling that lets a person live life to the fullest, enjoying every minute and making it meaningful. It also contributes to its completeness and gives an opportunity to colour the lives of other people.

No doubt, all people want to be happy.  Happiness is the thing that is desired by people regardless their age, religious beliefs, sex, personal qualities. Being a teenager myself, I can say that we often discuss this topic and everyone has their own unique idea of what happiness is. Still all of us have some common ideas related to the topic. To prove it I conducted a survey among the pupils of 8 and 10 grades. The questions the respondents were asked to answer are given below.

1. Are you a male or a female?
2. How old are you?
3. Are you a happy person? – choose the answer yes or no
4. Choose not more than 5 items that can make (or make) you happy. List them according to their importance.

1. Good relationships with friends and schoolmates
2. Good marks at school
3. Love
4. Mutual understanding with parents
5. A hobby (an activity) that you like doing very much
6. Satisfaction from you do every day
7. Money
8. A friendly family
9. Praise and encouragement from teachers
10. A new gadget
11. Fashionable clothes
12. An opportunity to travel
13. Helping those who need help (the poor, the elderly, the homeless, the abandoned animals)
14. Your variant

5. Define happiness. What is happiness according to your opinion?

The respondents, as it is clearly seen from the table below, belong to different sexes and there is a slight difference between them in their age – 8 and 10 graders. The survey was anonymous. The whole number of respondents is 40 students.

Summing up the results of the survey, I can say that most teenagers are  happy  in spite of all the obstacles they  may face. Besides, it should be noted that a teenager is happy if he or she has a friendly and loving family and good relationships within the family. Love also seems to be an essential factor. What is more, money, fashionable clothes and new gadgets are not dominant in making teenagers happy. That really proves that happiness is something more than a sum of money on your bank account. I completely share the opinion of my fellow-students.

Besides, analyzing the answers of the students I should mention two definitions of happiness given by some of the respondents, which I like most. For example, one girl said, that for her happiness is «being conscious that I am important to other people, that it  is a feeling that raises our spirits, gives us kind emotions and a smile on the face of a person you might not even know. It motivates people and helps them to overcome challenges of life».

Also one of the respondents (it was a boy) said, that from his point of view happiness is «a state of mind, when you are glad to see every person, you want to help everybody, you feel merry and you are eager to do some crazy things. Besides, a happy person always has an opportunity to colour his daily routine travelling or even simply listening to some good music».

I  fully agree with these two statements and I think that both pupils have a perfect idea of happiness. I claim that helping others and feeling that people need you are also of  great importance for a person because these things are vital.

Personally for me, this beautiful word means a strong sincere real feeling which includes different pleasant things, for example, an excellent mood of tranquility and a full of spirit creation. I think that happiness must be present in our life. And it is really necessary to be happy and it is very important, because happiness is often hiding in the small things: hot tea with a favorite chocolate, a film with a good end, an exciting and intriguing book, sunny weather and a starry night.  Happiness is not a sum of material goods and possessions. Being sympathetic and helping those in need ( a sick child, a homeless person, a pensioner, a stray animal) fills you life with  some sense and makes you happy. Happiness must be shared with  surrounding people.

I want to say honestly and frankly, for me, happiness is the health of close people, compromise in the family, the smile of my friends, pure and mutual love, a positive outlook on the world, favorite photos and affectionate nicknames and just the happiness of being yourself, you simple enjoy yourself and all around you.

A happy person is a kind, understanding, helpful, sympathetic and compassionate person, a person with an open heart and soul. Still the main condition of happiness is when it is appreciated and felt, because the beautiful is not there tomorrow and yesterday, it is today and now, as Korolenko said: «Man is created for happiness, like a bird for flight». Often we forget about it in the turmoil and just stop and feel this moment… a happy moment, because we have only one duty – to be happy.

Being such a complicated thing, happiness for most of us  still mean love, family, friends, dedication to what you do, health of your close people, the opportunity to create and be youself,  helping others and sharing the joy with strangers…

To sum up, I want to finish my essay with a piece of advice: If some day you are lucky to catch this beautiful and fragile butterfly of happiness, do your best not to hurt it and share this beauty with other people.

As Dalai Lama once said:

 “Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your actions.”

So, are you ready to be   happy?