Try to define beauty. It is possible to find hundreds of meanings for the word beauty. The first definition in Merriam-Webster's’ Learner's Dictionary is “the quality of being physically attractive”. Here is where it gets tricky. Everyone has an opinion on what he or she finds “physically attractive”. Huffington Post describes beauty as “happiness” and yet many people find beauty in sorrow and sadness. Beauty is based on an individual’s point of view and opinions and therefore is in the eye of the beholder.

As the Chinese philosopher, Confucius, once said “Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.” Some believe that if you look hard enough, you can find a beautiful quality in anything. Many children think in this innocent, cheerful way because they have not been exposed to the idea that not everything is good. A child may believe his or her world is pretty and peaceful. An adult living in the same house often finds the ugly qualities in their world. The physical worlds are the same, but the level of understanding and point of views are very different.

Everyone has his or her own opinions. One of the most basic opinions is a favorite color. Imagine Girl A in a yellow dress and Girl B in a red dress. The girls and dresses are identical in size and shape. The only difference is the color of the fabrics. If a survey was taken of which dress was more beautiful, there would be many contrasting answers just based of people’s different opinions of the colors yellow and red. Beauty is only justifiable by opinion.

If beauty is only proven by point of view and opinion, how can so many people find beauty in the same objects? A perfect example of something commonly found beautiful is a sunset. Breaking down a sunset, you can see how many people can find an appealing quality. First, a sunset involves many pleasing tones of orange, yellow, pink, purple, and blue. Second, people find night time to be peaceful. The sun dropping into the horizon signifies that the starry night is quickly approaching. Another reason is how it unifies people. Different areas of a town or state can see the same or a similar view. Knowing a friend or loved one is enjoying something you are can be a comforting thought. Society agrees that certain things are beautiful, but the reason may contrast from person to person.

Beauty is a controversial topic based on point of views and opinions. Beauty can unite or separate people and groups. Everyone sees beauty in different people, places, and objects. There is no wrong definition for the word beauty.

Work Cited
"Beauty." Beauty - Definition for English-Language Learners from Merriam-Webster's Learner's Dictionary. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Aug. 2017.
Herrick, Lexi. "What Is the Real Definition of Beauty?" The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 10 Sept. 2015. Web. 31 Aug. 2017.