Essay:What is your idea of beauty? Describe some people, places or things that you consider to be beautiful.

 [Descriptive-discursive essay]

If we look carefully around us, beauty can be found all around us, in people, places and things, even in the smallest things in life. To me, beauty does not necessarily refer to the physical appearance of a person or the aesthetic appeal of an object. Thus I will be writing about what I consider to be beautiful in the following paragraphs.

  For people, their character is undoubtedly the most important aspect that determines beauty. One such person whom I deem beautiful is none other than my mother. Although life has not spared my mother's face from wrinkles, as time slips away from our fingertips, one prominent thing that will never change is my mother's character. Overflowing with love and selflessness, she is like a source of spring water, its resources never depleting. Her love is like the spring water, pure, crystalline, and always sufficient to share amongst her dearest family members and friends. I cannot forget about the time when I failed my Chinese essay for my end-of-year examinations during secondary one. It was a major setback to me and I was expecting my mother to be disappointed in my performance and blame me for not doing well. Instead, she was there to embrace me, allowing me to pour out my feelings without holding back, and even there to comfort me. She reassured me that it was not the end of the world just due to one failure. Through her every thoughtful gesture, my mother's kindness has touched my heart.

  Where places are concerned, to me, Nachi Falls is the first to appear in my mind out of the countless places of scenic beauty. The waterfall is humongous. Spanning an impressive height of one hundred and thirty-three metres, it is the largest waterfall in Japan in terms of height and volume. Although it is definitely not as spectacular as the seven wonders of the world, it still holds a significance within me because it is a place filled with precious memories. The swishing of the water, the piney, fresh air fills my soul with serenity and makes me entirely rejuvenated. While climbing up the numerous flights of stairs, my family and I were panting all the way. At times, we felt worn out. We waited for each other to catch a breather and catch up with each other's pace. We continued. We finally reached the peak of the hill to view the Nachi Falls from another perspective. At the peak, all the sweat and effort that we put in seemed worthwhile. Therefore, the picturesque scenery will be etched deeply in my mind forever, not only because it displays the beauty and wonder that Mother Nature has to offer, but also because of the arduous journey up the flights of stairs, when we spurred each other on and spent special time together as a family.

  Lastly, this thing of beauty is compact, has a sturdy cover and consists of almost a hundred pages filled with horizontal lines. It may seem like an ordinary notebook. Yes, it is. It is in fact the notebook that I use as my diary. My diary never has a page left blank. Each and every page is either filled with my daily happenings, ramblings or happy events. My diary is a friend that I can confide in- where I share all my deepest secrets and fears, my hopes and aspirations, and my life. This friend of mine will never ever divulge any secret or judge me. Therefore, I can freely jot down everything that I like and express how I feel through writing. Other than being a reliable friend, my diary is a record of my progress- how I grown as a person over the years as well as my progress in learning a third language- Korean! One time, I flipped back to look at my previous diary entries. The Korean characters that I wrote were a little awkward-looking and the sentences did not really make sense. Now, my Korean words look so much more natural and the sentences are more logical too, which made me feel a great sense of achievement having improved so much. Hence, my diary means a lot to me and is beautiful as it is where I can share my feelings, reflect on my past and think ahead for the future. [Comment: Nice!]

   To sum it up, beauty is in the eye of the beholder as everyone has his or her idea of beauty. Even ordinary people and things, like my mother and diary, are beautiful when I observe them with eyes of gratitude and a sentimental heart. Any place can also be considered beautiful simply because of the memories that it holds. To me, beauty is found in the small details of life.