What are you proud of?

@psyonicpanda: Congrats on your first thousand! With a question like this, you will likely find that number increasing rapidly.

I am proud of myself for overcoming childhood abuse, although it took a few decades to get to where I am emotionally stable, I know that many people don’t ever get manage to heal the scars of betrayal by their own family as kids. I am also proud to have completed a Master’s degree – although I also feel fortunate that I found a career well-suited to me and that I still love >20 years after getting that degree. I am proud of having raised my son on my own, and I am proud of him for being a responsible, hard-working, and fairly mature young man, despite the mistakes his father and I made when he was younger. I am proud to be part of a relationship filled with respect, honesty, trust and devotion—that I have learned from my myriad of past relationship mistakes and put control issues and insecurities behind me. I still have much to learn and will keep working to improve myself, until I am no longer.

This is a difficult question for someone committed to self-hatred.
I am proud of the work I have performed.
I am proud of my kids. They may not be examples of benefits to society, but they are good people.
I am proud of my ability to take shit from someone, and keep smiling.

I’m proud of my daughter, a little spark off the old rampart. A brighter and funnier person I do not know.

I am proud of all the challenges I have overcome and that I am a resilient and resourceful woman.

I am proud of my wit and humor, and wish there were more funny and playful people in my real life.

I am proud of my pets, all happy rescues living the good life on my little micro-farm.

I am proud that I am not a hypersensitive and overly emotional female and use logic over irrational emotion to make my decisions and come to my conclusions.

I am proud that I have the gift of gab and can make anyone feel welcomed and comfortable instantly when in my presence.

Good question @psyonicpanda. Congrats on the 1k, and thank you for your military service.

Like @hearkat, I am proud to have made it through an abusive family situation. I wouldn’t say that I’m completely healed (am not sure this will ever happen), but I am very self-aware and reflective about how it has shaped me and what I can do in response. Many friends over the years have commented on how remarkable it is that I am such a kind and compassionate person in light of what I experienced, and that is indeed something to be proud of.

I’m proud to be in a PhD program for a field I love, at an age where many of my peers are still in college and/or financially dependent on their parents. I’m proud and grateful to be able to pursue the path I chose when I was a teenager.

I’m proud to be able to speak real French after almost a decade of study, not the “Franglais” that many Anglophone academics profess to speak. People I met in Paris this summer often guessed I was Belgian or Swiss, meaning a native Francophone, but with a slight accent, and that was very gratifying.

I’m proud to be a teacher, and proud of my students.

I am proud to be living as the gentle femme bookish fellow I am, not pretending to be someone else, and grateful that I am safe and secure to do so where I live.

I’m proud of my ability to filter when around people I dislike.
I’m proud that even though I’d much rather be alone, I can keep myself from shutting everyone out.
I’m proud that I can make myself laugh, even if no one is laughing with me.
I’ve never made a promise I didn’t intend to keep.
Somehow, I can convince myself that school is important and I do have to go. Even on Mondays.

I’m proud of the person I am. I’m kind and respectful to others and I never wish ill upon anyone. I am able to genuinely rejoice in others’ successes without feeling threatened or jealous. I’m proud of the fact that if I give someone my word, I always keep it. I’m proud that I have steady moods from day to day and can keep my calm under stressful situations. I’m proud that I’ve never, ever lost control of my temper with anyone. I’m proud that people are naturally drawn to me because they consider me a trusting person. I’m also proud of what I’ve been able to accomplish academically and professionally and the fact that I can speak 5 languages fluently. Mostly, though, I’m proud of the fact that I am always looking for ways to improve myself so I can be a better person not only for myself, but for those around me as well.

GQ, by the way!

I don’t feel comfortable using the word proud, but I feel good about the fact that my word can always be trusted, and I would rather help other people than get things for myself.

Pride goeth before the fall….Or something like that.

@YARNLADY I love your answer!

I don’t like the word pride myself, I prefer healthy self championing. haha
I wasn’t going to dissect the OP’s choice of words though, I think we all get the jist of intention.

I earned a Masters Degree at age 36, and I graduated #1 in my class..

I’m really good at giving a withering look to obnoxious people—the look tells them that they’re not worthy of my time or consideration—and then turning away. This avoids plenty of ugly conflicts and confrontations.

@bookish1 Il y a trois mois que j’etudie le francais, depuis aout. (Sorry, but I don’t know how to add the accents unless I use Microsoft Word and set the language to French.)

Don’t you just love it when someone pretentiously orders wine and says, in his best accent, “Blahn-K”? I need to restrain myself from saying, “Um…the ‘c’ is silent, and the ‘n’ forms a nasal vowel.”

@PaulSadieMartin: Ça fait juste trois mois? C’est pas mal :) Bon courage à vous.

And hearing French being butchered always makes me wince. But I have even made myself wince by requesting a “kruhssant” because people don’t know what I’m talking about around here when I ask for a croissant.

@bookish1 Vous etes tres gentille, main vous n’avez pas raison! Je parle mal and lentement. Il faut pratiquer!

@PaulSadieMartin: Non, mais c’est impressionnant, je n’aurais pas pu écrire comme vous le faites après seulement trois mois d’études! Mais je dois vous corriger: je suis gentil parce que je suis un mec :) Il faut pratiquer bien sûr, mais il faut aussi être patient.
If you would like, I could send you suggestions of French language music and radio stations to listen to.

@bookish1 Of course, I meant to write “mais,” not “main.” I do know the difference between “but” and “hand.” Rookie mistake!

Pardon, M. le Mec. Vous etes mon ami, et vous etes homme affable.

Je suis femme au foyer. Je reste a la maison, and je fais la menage, la cuisine, la lessive… Je promene mon chien tous les jours. En ete, je fais toujours du jardinage.

Thank you for offering to send some French music and radio suggestions. I’d be delighted to have the information. I know that the best learning comes from as much immersion as possible.

I am proud of the fact that I’ve gone though more than 50 years of ups and downs and inside my heart I can still squeal like a little girl with delight when I am happy because I can still find beauty all around me and in the people I love. There was a time when I thought I would never find that inner happiness again.
Maybe not proud but grateful.

I’m proud of my kids and partner’s accomplishments. I’m proud of my friends a lot of the time. Sometimes I’m proud of myself but that kind of thing doesn’t get me off, necessarily. I have an ambivalent relationship with pride.

@PaulSadieMartin: On my Mac, here are the shortcuts for the diacritical marks.

http://french.about.com/od/writing/ss/typeaccents_8.htm

Le circonflexe for août

Press and hold “option,” press “i”. release “i” and type the “u.”

I am proud of the place I have managed to reach, emotionally. I am still by no means invincible, but I am pretty damn good at handling all the things that are thrown at me, by now. I am proud because I used to be very easily overwhelmed, and now I can handle (and even almost thrive on) stress. I’m proud because I used to be timid and shy, and now I am friendly and sociable.

@Mariah: That’s a lot to be proud of. :-)