Poll: AW yourself -- biggest accomplishment?

[Deleted]

There was a post about this on Married Life yesterday, and I thought it was nice.

What is your greatest accomplishment and/or the thing you're most proud of yourself for?

(Edit: feel free to AW more than one thing if you'd like)

[CallingAllAngels]

It might be lame, but my answer is my kids. They are such amazing little people.

[mbcdefg]

I've been told many times that I'm admired for "having it together."

[wanderlustmom]

I'd say my marriage. I grew up around a lot of unhappy ones and I see a lot of them now. Even when I get frustrated with him, he just feels like home. Ten years in and I still get a rush. Sorry for being so cliche. It's like what Tolstoy said all happy families are happy in the same way and they don't make for good stories,

[Deleted]

I turn 30 tomorrow and have everything I ever wanted :-)

[agnes]

Should it be hard for me to think of something? I don't feel like I've done anything exceptional.

[krisandgrace]

For three months I volunteered down in Costa Rice working on an orchid conservation project in the rainforest. I was working with two botanists that had special permission to harvest orchids for research and cloning purposes. On one outing I came across a very small plant on a limb of a tree I thought might be an orchid, it was an orchid and a variety not yet cataloged. My name is listed in a journal as one of the witnesses to this new species of orchid.

[audry80]

Surviving my liver transplant and instead of having a pity party asking why did this happen to me I embraced it and now an advocate for organ donation. The saying "everything happens for a reason" is so cliche but I know why it happened to me..... I am a much happier and better person because of it.

[aspentosh]

Being able to get what I have without outside assistance (minus H, I guess). I never moved back in with my parents, I bought a house without help, and have never needed money from anyone to do it. I think that's a big accomplishment these days.

ETA: Oh, and successfully BFing for a year. Not without struggles, but we did it.

[Deleted]

I'm lame.

I guess passing the bar exam the first time around, although 90% of my class did the same.

[Deleted]

I don't feel like I've accomplished much. I guess surviving my old job?

I think my strength is more in my loyalty as a friend than in any tangible accomplishments.

[sicilygirl]

I think my biggest accomplishment was passing the CPA exam. I had an extremely difficult time with it, not due to it being too hard, but due to me experiencing pretty severe depression at the time and having an impossible time studying (which was new for me as I'd always been an excellent student). I took some parts multiple times. Some parts expired after I passed them, and I had to retake them. But I finally passed, and it was the biggest blessing to be done with it!

[Deleted]

My relationship (evolution of my relationship) with MH. We've been to hell and back together, multiple times. We laugh, we cry, we fight, but at the end of the day, we're standing right alongside each other.

We're going through an extremely difficult and life altering situation right now and I feel closer to him than I ever have before. Our marriage and relationship is far from perfect and we've had our fair share of rocky moments, but I love that man to pieces and I know he adores me just as much.

[Deleted]

Working my ass off in high school, graduating at the top of my class, and applying for every scholarship I could get my hands on for a full ride and then some. I can't believe I had that much foresight at 18 years old.

[winnied]

It's kind of sad but I'm proud of myself for just having my shit together. Things could have gone really south in my teens and I pulled it together, despite no one really thinking I could/would. I pride myself on people thinking I'm really "put together." It's silly, perhaps, but I don't really expect myself to do anything "great" or awe-inspiring.

[ssmjlm]

Finishing a 16 month grad program in 12.

My last promotion was huge for me personally and professionally.

[Susie]

There are a few things I've done that were incredibly, incredibly difficult for me, but I'm not sure I'd call them my greatest accomplishments. Sticking it out while I was struggling in a difficult major at a really challenging school for undergrad, passing two different bar exams, finishing law school instead of deciding to just be a patent agent...

Those are all things I felt relief at doing rather than joy, once they were over. I think I'll feel the same way if/when I make partner.

I prefer to recall the things I felt joy at doing. I anticipate feeling huge amounts of joy when I finish my first half ironman in June. Totally something a 10 years ago me would not have thought myself capable of.

[Deleted]

I honestly can't think of any big, noteworthy accomplishments. I've just always sort of been a cog in the machine and done what I was supposed to do. Nothing to write a feature article on or anything.

[raangoli]

Biggest accomplishment? I'm not sure, but there are many things I am proud of that I've accomplished. Grad school, obtaining a certification last year are among the two professional achievements. On a personal level, my marriage. It was a long, emotionally difficult road to get there, but I am so glad I went through the scariest moment of my life to get to where we are today.

[Deleted]

Jan 30, 2013 11:56:42 GMT -5 @totsintosa said:

I honestly can't think of any big, noteworthy accomplishments. I've just always sort of been a cog in the machine and done what I was supposed to do. Nothing to write a feature article on or anything.

You helped me get my first job! That's pretty big in my book!

[Deleted]

I had a pretty badass nomadic life from age 21 -26. Finished college, grad school, lived in 7 states, moved several places without knowing a soul, bought my first truck cash, advanced my career, all with minimal (<10 k student loans only!) debt and no help from my parents. And I had a FABULOUS time.

[jerseyjaybird]

I don't know that it's an accomplishment, per se, but I've had a hell of a few years and I think I've handled it all with a lot of grace and learned about myself in the process. Pretty proud of that.

I'm also glad that I traveled so much in my twenties, often alone.

[RandZB]

Another lamerton here, my two boys. They are wonderful and amazing and I am simultaneously proud and terrified that I am responsible for shaping them into productive members of society.

We are also not in debt up to our eyeballs, which not everyone my age can say. We have a reasonable mortgage and that's it.

[Deleted]

I know we've only known each other for 9rys and married for 5, but I'm really proud of the relationship I have with DH. My parents were a horrible example for marriage, and DH and I have definitely tested 'for better or worse' in 5yrs with multiple miscarriages, major house damage/renovations (2wks before our wedding, lol), his unemployment, and the ongoing financial challenges that we both brought into the picture. But we continue to just build each other up and find ways to be good partners through it all. I'm proud that we're being such a good example for our son and just hope we keep the dynamic going.

ETA: I'm also really glad I've travelled as much as I had when I was younger. Studying abroad in Scotland, working in London and Yellowstone were definitely out of the norm for my family. It helped so much with confidence and maturity (if not the budget, lol), and I hope C has that spirit of adventure too.

[Noblegirl]

I feel like I've done well in life with regards to school (graduating in the top 10) and work--but I view those as things that I just did...not goals that I planned for or worked super hard towards.

I'm actually most proud of delivering both of my kids with out pain meds. I felt that it was something within my control, and I did it. Even the feeling afterwards was such a high. I had so many people telling me that I'd never be able to do it, and I liked proving them all wrong.

[ReenaP]

Mine would probably be getting a full scholarship to grad school. It wasn't a prestigious school or anything, but it allowed me to save a ton in student debt, and has helped my career.

[CloudBee]

Investing. I'm so proud of what I've done for our portfolio.

[dr.girlfriend]

Professionally:

I went up for and passed my boards. It's not a requirement like it is for MDs, so it was hard to convince myself to take the time and effort and expense. It's a multi-step process over several years with a written exam, work samples, and oral examination. Less than 500 people in my profession are boarded, so it makes me proud to have sucked it up and done it.

Personally:

I am so happy with my husband and son, and looking back I'm surprised how "brave" I was early on in that relationship. There were things about DH that might have seemed incompatible with me at first glance -- we're different in almost every variable (race, SES, education, religion -- he even smoked!) and yet we are so compatible in the ways that matter. I was brave enough to keep dating him when he said he wouldn't start a family until he had his "three-picture deal" (still waiting for that one!) and then I ended up taking a risk and doing an extra year of postdoc so that I didn't have to ask him to move with me before we were ready for that step. It paid off big-time!

[chessie]

Working my ass off at a shitty job, while putting myself through college. I was the first in my family to even go to college.

[marclovesme]

Having DD naturally without DH. I cried and said over and over to DH on the phone that I couldn't do it, but I did.

Graduating from bootcamp. Looking back it was pretty tough, but I went into it with the mentality that it could always be worse.

Making it out of my hometown. A LOT of people I know didn't, my younger sisters included, and it's really, really sad. I feel so lucky that I got a full scholarship, but I did work really hard for it.