Are You Courageous?

[A question raised in my English entrance exam.]
Q. What is ‘courage’?
[I chose to answer in the form of a debate/essay as the format was not specified but a large space was provided. This was my answer. (We were NOT allowed dictionaries in the exam.)]
A. The most commonly recognised form of ‘courage’ would have a very simple answer. One could simply write “This is.” and leave the rest of this page blank but to answer in such a form would not give explanation for ‘courage’ and would present not an image of courage but more of arrogance and lack an understanding for the true meaning of the word.
‘Courage’, in the general sense, is defined as “the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face danger, pain, etc., without fear”. This definition brings up the most obvious acts of courage. A woman who saves a family from a burning house is courageous. A girl who has a fear of heights but still goes skydiving is courageous. A boy who is can’t swim well but still saves a drowning animal is courageous. A man who enters a war to fight for his country’s freedom is courageous. But all of these things are generic in a sense.
There are so many other types of courage. A person who gives up a big dream to support their family is courageous. A person who goes back to work even after an accident is courageous. A person who stands in the line of fire to save a life is courageous. A person who overcomes a past trauma is courageous. A person who seeks advice is courageous. A person who gets up in the morning during troubled times is courageous. A doctor who calls a death is courageous.
But again there are other types of courage. A person who is in pain, is suffering and is going to die ends their life. That is courage. Many people who hear of these things would disagree, but it is courage. It takes courage to do a very selfish yet very selfless act. To end ones own life in a circumstance such as this is selfish because of the people that would be hurt and left behind. It is selfish because the person thinks of themselves, but in these circumstances it can be courageous because the person may have done this because it cause loved ones pain to see them suffer, it caused financial problems, it cause difficulties for the people who looked after them whilst ill. And so it is a type of courage.
There is a type of courage that is not recognised by awards or even thought. This courage is the most selfless of all. A person who gives up a dream for the benefit of others, to me, is the most courageous of all. To lock away a secret love or passion to make things easier or better or less painful for someone else’s benefit is courageous.
The boy who raises his hand in the back of the classroom to point out a mistake is courageous, as is the girl who holds her tongue for the sake of another person’s feelings. To stand up for what you believe in take courage, to take a life for the sake of others is courageous. The person who speaks to the outcast is courageous just like the person who enforces the laws for people’s safety.
But through all of this, even though each can be classed as courage, can it truly be called ‘courage’? People very rarely do something without some sort of personal gain involved. Each act has some ulterior motive behind it.
A fireman who fights a fire gains money for his services. A person who saves a person from drowning thinks not of the consequences or of the rewards they just react because it is humane and ethical.
The question is not ‘what is courage?’ but ‘what is complete selflessness?’ and so we must ask our selves ‘am I selfless or selfish?’
Are you courageous?