About myself

I am Sveta Petrenko. I am 17. I have left school this year. I was born in Kyiv, so I have been living in Kyiv since my childhood.

Now I am a first-year student of the University of “Ukraine”. I am a student of a correspondence / permanent department. After graduating from the University, I would like to have an interesting and a well-paid job. I hope not only to have enough money to pay my bills but to have my own house, to put money in the bank. I wish to improve my standard of living gradually понемногу, постепенно. I want to be successful. There are such important words in life: love, happiness, money, health. The most important is certainly health, but the next I consider is money, because if you have money you will have freedom, happiness and love. I wish myself good luck and I’ll try to be nice to people. At my leisure time I go in for sports, read books, go to the theatre, the exhibitions. I like listening to music and playing tennis.

A Definition of Happiness

"Most people are as happy, as they make up their minds to be"( Abraham Lincoln)

There is hardly a person in the world who could really define such a complicated feeling as happiness. First of all a man must realize and know what it means and. It often happens that a great amount of people only pre­tend to know something about happiness, it also happens that people realise how happy they are but they don't speak about it.

I cannot claim that 1 know what happiness is. It can not be a matter of good fortune or worldly житейский, практичный possession собственность. It comes from appreciating what we have, instead of complaining about what we don't. All I can tell you is that when you are happy, you feel it with all your heart. When you are happy you always seem to lack words. You are not walking — you are flying; you are like the sun, the sky, the flowers, all in one, inseparable неотделимый. Everything then seems differ­ent. The trees are greener, the stars shine brighter, the moon is kinder. You feel like everything goes right, as it should be. You are a dynamite /’dainəmait/ of feelings and emotions.

May be someone else's happiness expresses itself in a little bit different way. People differ greatly and so does their understanding of happiness. Still we can't but agree that happiness can not last long; if it did, then it would not be happiness - we couldn't feel it, we'd get used to it. To my mind we are happy when we love, are kind and tolerant to people around us, make others happy.

Do you have the personal characteristics that might help you become a successful entrepreneur /,ɔntrəprə'nɜː/ предприниматель? Be honest with yourself.

1. Are you a self-starter?

a) I do things my own way. Nobody needs to tell me to get going.

b) If somebody gets me started, I keep going all right.

2. How do you feel about other people?

a) I like people. I can get along with just about anybody.

b) Most people irritate me. (irritate - раздражать)

3. Can you take responsibility?

a) I like to take charge брать ответственность and see things through.

b) There’s always some eager beaver / a hard-worker around waiting to show off.

4. How good an organizer are you?

a) I like to have a plan before I start. I’m usually the one who lines things up (line up выстраивать).

b) I do all right unless things get too complicated. Then I lose interest.

5. How good a worker are you?

a) I can keep going as long as necessary. I don’t mind working hard.

b) I’ll work hard for a time, but when I’ve had enough, that’s it.

6. Can you make decisions?

a) I can make up my mind in a hurry if necessary, and my decision is usually O.K.

b) I can if I have plenty of time. If I have to make up my mind fast, I usually regret it.