When have you triumphed in your life?

My sophomore year in high school accomplished something that turned my life around. I grew up in an elite town where most of the kids were children of college professions, doctors, lawyers, and business people. I lived in the projects. I went out for basketball my sophomore year that was heavy laden with seniors. There were 7 seniors on the team and 5 starters were back from the year before. I just wanted to make the junior varsity team. The first game of the season I started with 4 other seniors. To say the least, I was not their favorite guy. Long story short, made All Conference as a sophomore. That was really needed at this stage in my life. I cried like a baby. Got lots of awards, All State, 4 year fully paid scholarship to a major university, but nothing meant as much as that award my sophomore year. At the time, had alcoholic father and a mother that I hardly ever saw, and this award gave me a sense of accomplishment and good self esteem. At that stage of my life, could have gone down the wrong road, but this award was just unreal for a 15 year old boy.

I’ve triumphed over all those who have talked bad about me, believed that I would not succeed in life, and those who believed me to be less than I actually am. I have triumphed over each obstacle that has been thrown my way, and will continue to do so for the rest of my life.

I managed to complete a Master’s degree while working full-time (40–50 hrs/wk) and raising two wee ones. It’s not much, but it bloody well feels like a triumph.

@the100thmonkey dang cool stuff.

It was my last day in Germany. I was downtown busking with a friend I’d met. When it came time to go home to the apartment my parents had rented, I told him to take all the money, thinking I wouldn’t need it. Then I got on the bus, to go home. All summer long, I had bought a ticket and never seen an inspector. Since I had no money, I couldn’t buy a ticket. And don’t you know? There were some inspectors at the bus stop.

I tried to get off, but they would have none of it. They put me in the car and took me to the police station. There was no way in the world that I was going to have my parents come out to get me the last night in Germany. I had to see if there was some other way to get out of it.

I decided to play stupid American. I claimed I didn’t have any papers because I was camping in the Black Forest. If they would only take me up to my tent, I could give them the papers. Well, that was my theory. I didn’t speak any German, and I’m not sure how good their English was, but they didn’t seem to be satisfied with my story.

They sat me down in the lobby to the police station and told me to wait. I waited. And waited. Eventually, the lobby was empty. No policemen. I decided to make a run for it. I dashed out the doors and around the corner and ran through the empty streets. I walked the rest of the way home, taking the back way, and watching for cops the whole way.

I don’t know when I got home, and I don’t know if my parents were waiting or not. Probably not.

The next day we drove off to the airport, but I felt like I was a major fugitive, and that we might be stopped at any time by the manhunt out looking for me. Well, I didn’t really think there was a manhunt, but I was definitely worried. That worry lasted until our plane lifted off the runway—although, I have to say, I haven’t been back to Germany since.

Faced with losing huge chunk of business to a competitor I worked an entire month in the lab to reformulate a product that 2 previous owners of this company couldn’t do! I finally did it and we now have the best formula on the market! Yay me!

@BoBo1946 : That award sounds superb!
@chels : You go, girl!
@the100thmonkey : You worked hard for that degree. Way to go!
@wundayatta : great story!
@Cruiser : WooHoo! Glad to hear it.

Thank you Jake! And, people wonder why I think their is a God! That was why!

Almost two years ago I could barely walk.
Now I can.;)
I am working on running full blast again

I went to Germany last summer, @wundayatta, and guess what…, they’re still looking for you…

Yikes!

[wundayatta digs a deeper hole in the straw and pulls more in after him—inadvertently pricking his ass on the needle!]

”If you can meet with triumph & disaster & treat those two imposters just the same.”

Sorry, any excuse to quote that terrific line. I consider the birth of both my kids as the greatest triumph this guy will ever experience. :¬)

I took a nursing refresher course after being out of it for 18 years- passed and went back to work. I was also working and a single mother.

@ucme)-Exactly:

@lucillelucillelucille : I hope you’ll be running soon.
@rebbel : lol.
@ucme : Kids are a great triumph.
@faye : Yay! My sister’s a nurse, and I know how hard you folks work.
@noelleptc : Hooray for kids and living through labor!

I convinced a medical community that didn’t want to work with me because I was single to sell me donor sperm, then I convinced an infertility doctor who didn’t work with singles to do the necessary procedures that led to pregnancy and Katawagrey. As a result of my forming a group to address this a number of physicians changed their policies.

@hawaii_jake ; I love when you ask questions like these!

Coming out of the closet was a big triumph for me. I waited so long to fully do it, after I was out of high school, after I had turned 18 as I had originally planned. It was an incredible “freeing” feeling. It seemed like up until that point, I had been living a lie or at least omitting a significant part of my life and not being fully me. Finally in September ‘09, I was able to tell my family and most of my friends, none of which showed me anything but support.

@JilltheTooth : Hooray! It’s a thrilling story with a very great finish.
@DominicX : Yay! Coming out gives us so much freedom.

More than anything, my triumphs are work related. A couple of years ago I started to develop some software. totally freelance and unfunded. I had a budget of zero. I and a friend worked on it for a full year (maybe longer)

For a full year we did not see a single penny from it, all it gave us was problems. and a lot of times it looked like it would maybe never be finished. however, it is now finished, it works, and is on sale. It is not exactly paying off that much yet, it will probably take a couple of years before it pays back our time investment. and there will no doubt be more work that needs to be put in to it in the future, but we will get there. while we are not quite there yet, finishing it and having an end product was some what of a triumph, a very satisfying moment indeed.

At the risk of many more lives than my own I have completely mastered fire and small explosives. Seriously, me and my friend nearly burned his house down making custom fireworks. We still managed to stay pyromaniacs long enough to each tie 24 roman candles together and fight out a small war.

Don’t try this at home, you are not nearly as badass as me and if you attempt it you will burn to death. You have now been warned.

@poisonedantidote : Yay for new software!
@Zyx : I will heed that warning.

I’ve had.. not the easiest life in some ways, even though I know people would look from the outside and think I have it made. Sooooo not true..

I guess, when I look at my life, my biggest triumphs have been when I have soldiered through times where all I wanted to do is give up, lie down, and die. Times where I couldn’t imagine things getting any worse, and then had more shit piled on top. These times, I truly doubted that I could make it through or that things would ever get better. When these occasions have been brought on by someone else’s mind fucking or abuse, it’s even more satisfying when I come out the other end.

It’s a triumph to me that I have developed into a really good person, despite all the mistreatment and bullshit I’ve had to deal with. I never say these things to make people sorry for me, just so people know where I come from and why I am the way I am.

Other triumphs include things that I was positive I couldn’t do, or was too scared to even try. Hiking to the top of Half Dome is probably the thing I’m most proud of having done because I was shaking and terrified, but I collected my cojones and did it anyway (with lots of help!). I can’t describe the amazing, heart-bursting joy and pride I felt when I pulled myself up off the cables and stepped foot on the peak. Amazing doesn’t even begin to cover it.

@the100thmonkey – Don’t be so humble! That is an amazing and admirable accomplishment!

@MissAnthrope : I’m so glad you soldiered through and that you made it to the top of Half Dome! Yay!

I’ve done a lot of things that I have been proud of. But there was one that made me the proudest.

I was a single parent with one child. Abandoned completely (financially and otherwise) by my ex. I worked hard, raised my daughter, never with emphasis on material things, but with books, art, beauty, good organic food and with lots of boundaries. I homeschooled her (part of the time as she got older…while still working.) She was accepted to university at 17.

She went on to graduate from a tip- top university ( finished in three years) and then went on to get a Master’s at Oxford (by the age of 22).

It was her triumph….but it quietly felt like mine. I bucked the odds. And more than that, so did she.

@DarlingRhadamanthus : A very inspiring story! Remarkable really. Thank you for sharing.

@DarlingRhadamanthus thank you! I REALLY like that story.

@lucillelucillelucille go girl….like that! we never give up…fight to the last step!

@BoBo1946 -Thanks!That is exactly my attitude :)))

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