Zeng Chun, Class 7, Senior 1, Shenzhen Xin’an Middle School Instructed by Tang Ying

Does buying and accumulating more and more stuff make us happier? There is no doubt that the answer is “No.” In my opinion, it is almost impossible for me to be in a good mood when I look at a great amount of stuff. I totally agree that everyone should have ample things which are valuable and useful. There is lots of trouble about having too much stuff. The following are my reasons.

To begin with, the more stuff we own, the messier and more crowded the room is. Giving a rough example, every day we go home with a tired and sleepy feeling and a desire to relax. However, when the door is open, there is no empty space, not even a place to sleep. How terrible and unthinkable it is! Even so, you must stay and live in such an environment. How could you have good and high quality sleep every day?

Secondly, have you ever thought of the practical meaning of most of the stuff? Have you used it frequently or just hardly? Have you had the ability to put the stuff in order? To cut a long story short, maybe you will be very happy when you buy a new object for the first time. However, you may have to decide later how to deal with it: Throw it away or ignore it. It is not good behavior to waste and spend money out of control, especially for us teenagers. Even if our parents pay for us now, in the future, who will pay for us? There will be no free lunch in the future and we ourselves will pay.

Thirdly, your small and crowded room can be home to unwanted pests. As you have more and more stuff, you will have no choice but to fold it up like a small mountain. And eventually, there will form several spaces, which are offered to unexpected guests to make their homes. You will ask the question, who are they? Oh, needless to say, we all know that they are mice, cockroaches and mosquitoes. Would you be satisfied to live with them? More importantly, some of them will also bring multiple germs. For showing off how rich you are, you pay the price regarding your health. As the saying goes, the loss outweighs the gain.

As far as I’m concerned, happiness is not based on buying and accumulating stuff. Furthermore, we are also supposed to make contributions to green consumption. More wasted stuff just leads to pollution. When the Earth is filled with rubbish, how can you be happy? You are part of the Earth after all.