What's an achievement (or achievements) you'll always be proud of?
I guess I'll start because I don't have much, but I cherish them:
-
I'm proud I got out of poverty "alone". I used to never get anything as a child as my family was very poor. I only had thrift store clothes until I was maybe 12 or 13. I left my father's home at 17 and today, I have a good career, a car (!), stable finances, and I can buy anything I want and save money! I did all that with pretty much zero support, nor help from my parents or friends (no money, no gifts, no car, no services...).
-
I'm proud of achieving top 100 NA in WoW PvE multiple times, top 200 world on some bosses, as a guild. With my class as a DPS, I got multiple top 10 parses world on multiple bosses. I rode the high of seeing an orange parse on WoL many times.
-
I'm proud to have "beaten" depression and to have a positive outlook in life. Everyone says I'm always happy and the truth is...I am, because I don't care about so many things you're not supposed to care about.
-
I'm proud to have a healthy group of friends on my thirties. I still talk with many people and I always have people I can see or talk to. They do the same with me!
I made this GIF: https://giphy.com/gifs/editingandlayout-NEvPzZ8bd1V4Y
And it has more views than there are people on Earth: over 9.1 billion views now.
Oh my god, it's you. I feel like I'm talking to a celebrity. Knowing who you are, I'm surprised you mentioned this specific gif rather than talk about your global contribution to the internet gif culture as a whole. Aren't you more proud of that?
I trace a lot of it back to starting to make gifs in the first place, and Jeremiah Johnson was one of my firsts, so I owe a lot to him!
I've always just done this for fun primarily, and I've got to meet a lot of people and make some great friends along the way, so I am very thankful for that.
I get together with a lot of the r/HighQualityGifs mods every year, and we all hang out in person for a long weekend and just do whatever. That's been the best part of it all. I think this year will be our tenth year of doing that. HQG Con we call it, haha.
Ah, that makes sense. I definitely remember the gif wars and the heyday of HQGs so it's awesome that after all that you recognize the Jeremiah gif as an achievement. You deserve all your success :)
Holy shit +1 another fan here. First reddit celebrity I've seen on Tildes!
!!! OMG !!! U ARE A LEGEND! WOWWW!
Well, I'm surprised nobody has said it in response, but this. :)
That's awesome. Although I bet it's slightly irritating that there's no monetization behind such things.
It is, but I always just made gifs for fun anyway, and never looked into how to make money from it. But I'm able to do social media as my full-time job now, so it did lead me into that career. I can't complain!
Of course you can still complain. But I'm glad it helped make things work out :)
That is easily my most used gif. If you are who you say you are then I congratulate you heartily.
Oh I feel this in my soul. I recently wrote about this a bit. Every day is a blessing because I never thought it would come.
I'm proud I beat cigarettes. Fuck you, nicotine.
51, years of therapy, still feels far out of reach.
Psilocybin?
Thank you for asking.
I have prescription ketamine. Not quite the same but it has been powerfully helpful. Worked through PTSD several times faster with it than without.
I'd try psilocybin if I could do it with medical supervision. Currently waiting to hear back from a local organization that does studies on behalf of MAPS.
As another person who feels that this helped them, I want to add that the most important thing is to do it in a way you feel comfortable. I got insanely lucky my first time and had a partner who really vibed with me during the whole process, while the rest watched Devil's Rejects (which is a deeply unsettling movie to me).
Two friends and I performed CPR on a woman who was fibrillating. We saved her life and even if I know there was a good part of chance in this and many other people were involved, I'll be proud of this until I die.
That's awesome! You did well
That's amazing - I've hoped to never have to put my cpr training to use. I'm sorry you had to, but what an amazing thing to help save a life.
Considering that if one ever gets to the point of needing CPR, it rarely helps (but is still always absolutely worth it), that's even more awesome.
Thank you for being a person that doesn't just sit there but is willing to be a helper.
Growing up as a kid, I had classical piano lessons, but never really got as far as I could have, due to cost and motivation. In adulthood, long story short, I stopped asking what if, and decided I didn't want to regret at the end of my life not having seen how far I could have gotten with piano, so I went and signed myself up for lessons as an adult learner. One of the most fulfilling things I ever did. Didn't matter that I was the only grown up in the studio, or at the recitals, with everyone else being a kid being brought by their parents. I took lessons for a few years, and managed to complete the performance half (other half is theory) of the second-to-the-highest level/grade of accreditation in classical piano in Canada. I also took a theory exam as part of all this, and scored a perfect 100% on it. I'm proud of that. Even up to now, when I happen to drive by the place where I took that exam, I always happily remember this accomplishment.
If anyone has an unfulfilled dream or unchecked bucket list item: Go for it! Picture yourself at age 85, asking yourself why you didn't do it. Then, ask yourself if you'd be okay that you didn't.
Very well done! I hear so many people (much older people too) talk about how the wanted to learn an instrument and never did. And you did it! Exactly the right attitude!
I had the same idea as you a few years ago too, I'd been yearning to learn the trumpet and kept putting it off, then finally jumped in and decided to give it a go. 2 years of lesson, practice and reciting.... And I was completely terrible lol. Honestly, my tutor was baffled, because I was technical good (in his words) but completely shit at holding a tune or reading sheet music.
I realized at somepoint it wasn't fun at all and I stopped, but I had no regrets because I really did try!
This is intriguing. Can you elaborate on this?
Sure! I had quite a lot of discussion with my tutor about it.
I had a good range for the time I had been playing and I was doing well at my scales, that kinda thing.
He explained to me that most people learn by ear or learn by reading (sheet music) and he normally starts by teaching sheet music and sees if a student is better at one or the other.
Now it's pretty clear by ear wasn't going to work for me. I'm the kind of person who listens to something off key and doesn't notice, never mind hearing the difference between a C and a D by listening.
Turns out sheet music didn't go so well either. I'm pretty slow at a lot of things, like math and reading. I take my time to think about stuff. And it really showed when I tried to learn sheet music. I could read it, but it took me a long time. And there was no way in hell I was passing the exams where they give you a random piece you've not seen before and ask you to play it in real time.
For easier pieces, I found I was accidently just learning the piece and not reading the sheet music as I went, but this eventually became impossible as the pieces got more complex and I just couldn't keep up. I'd do ok for maybe the first line or two (relying on memory) then I'd start making more and more mistakes and eventually stop somewhere in the middle because I got lost.
My tutor said in his like 20 years of teaching he'd not seen something like me, so that's novel lol. And we tried a lot of different things to try and combat it, he was genuinely really good and very patient.
But in the end I wasn't mad it didn't work out, I put in a lot of time and effort and it wasn't fun. I could walk away and say I tried and not regret it like "man what if I'd just stuck at it some more".
I hope this answers your question!
That's interesting. It sounds like your teacher really stuck with trying to solve things for quite some time.
I wonder if this means you could get better (faster) by practicing reading more. Anyway, I'm hesitant to suggest you go do something which is boring and uninteresting for you, but you and your obstacles to music learning really are unusual and interesting. On some occasions, I teach people basic note reading, so your story makes me think about how I might better teach certain students who are very slow to learn and perform certain things, even though I've repeated the same concept many times ("As I've said, when the note is just to the left of the bar line, that's syncopation, so you need to sing it earlier").
What a fantastic answer, you completely deserve that achievement!
That is awesome!
I wasn't going to post mine, but this is along the same lines: I am proud I finally finished my 4-year degree just before I turned 40.
I once stopped a forklift from tipping over. Big, 10k variety. It got hung up on some loose rocks, I touched the pedal and suddenly my view was tilting 20° and going. I quickly cut the wheel all the way to the right and clicked it over to 4-wheel steering and stood the thing back upright. Likely prevented at least $6USD of property damage.
A lot of my other 'proud' moments are mostly luck but that one was all skill. Well, if I'm being real, they're all luck. I'm just lucky is all.
Amazing job, friend! I would have thought it would be more, to be honest... But congratulations all the same!
(This is meant to be tongue in cheek)
I've done some literal life saving as a mental health professional so those situations for certain, but I have a hard time putting myself into a "life saving" role in my head.
I was nominated and won an award from our Accommodations office by a student who I'd helped several times with ensuring her cats didn't end up on the street and helping her get an off campus apartment instead of living on campus because she was homeless during breaks. That one is probably the most meaningful and the one I can't dismiss internally
I'm old, but when I was in college my friends and I were talking about NES games that were hard to beat. I proclaimed that I beat Mike Tyson's Punchout, and everyone said no-way, as none of them had done it. It had probably been 5-10 years since I had, so I practiced all week, and the following weekend I beat it from start to finish without getting knocked out in front of all the naysayers.
...I should probably put that on my resume.
I used to make AMVs (Anime Music Videos) when I was younger and I’m proud of my 16 year old self for making a video that now has almost five million views on YouTube. It’s not really my favorite of the ones I made but makes me happy that so many people enjoyed it.
That's so cool! You can definitely be proud for that.
Those are some really great achievements, you should be proud! Especially the depression one, that's a huge deal for your mental health.
For me, I think I'm reasonable humble about most things, but I'll try and find stuff to be proud of:
What else is on your bucket list, if I may ask?
It's not very long I'm afraid. The only thing I'm keen on now is to visit Asia more, specificly Thailand and Japan. But I've got a long time to check that off, I could do that kinda thing when I'm on my death bed lol.
Summiting Mt. Rainier (and others). Master's Degree in an applied science. Being the primary author in a peer-reviewed research paper. Being a public speaker/educator for college students, industry professionals, and researchers alike. And seeing DEVO perform.
I'm on wikipedia.
I'm still bummed it fizzled out, but I was scared of losing my house if things went badly. And while it was worthwhile, it was only part of what was needed: You need to stir up attention, have a plan, organize to make real change. The Occupy Wallstreet stuff fizzled out for similar reasons.
We're seeing a return of some protests, but if we don't organize something larger, they will also fizzle out. It worries me. But I'm not a good person for the organizing. I lucked into the Beck thing.
At least the article has people calling you wise for the way it ended.
It was a good and satisfying ending. lol.
I will say that part of the reason we ended up that way was a conversation with the lawyer. I asked how likely it was that they'd come after me in a US-based court for defamation, and what the chances were for us winning. He thought it was moderately likely and felt out chances were really good, but it wasn't quite enough to assume me to take the risk - because if I lost, I knew I'd lose my house. So signing over the domain was an attempt to prevent that - and it definitely worked. Never heard another word from them. lol.
It felt like a sort of lame ending, although a lot of folks saw it as epic. It's kinda both - epic and lame. lol
Damn that's a detailed Wikipedia article! Based on its descriptions of your lawyer's filings, he seems sassy af (and I mean that in a good way!)
He definitely is. He's had a history of taking on cases like that one. He's definitely sassy, very sure of himself. lol
I was at the Los Angeles Synth & Guitar Pedal Expo with a friend some years back (shit... might be over 5, now that I think about it) and doing the whole looky-loo, windowshopper thing. Eventually ended up at the Red Panda booth and started playing around with their Tensor, a strange looper-esque pedal. They had headphones connected, and I got pretty lost in the sauce playing my soul out (as pretentious as this may sound, I really do hit on something spiritual when I'm looping guitar stuff.. playing tender melodies, and such.. (what the main character of Soul hints at)). Anyhow, playing around with the pedal.. finding its secrets.. layering some stuff down and generally just enjoying myself for many minutes, all to myself. Or, so I think. Turns out the woman manning (hehe) the booth had also been listening in the entire time and, when I finally call it quits, lets me know that I'm the only person who's played anything of worth (I may be exaggerating the wording, here) the last couple days they've been there. I've yet to top this artistic achievement.
o, boi.. and, well, not to toot my own damn horn too much, but something I've down on this very webby site fills my heart with pride (the good kind, not the sinful kind).
So is Don Quixote last or is Franny and Zooey last?
Oof.. ok, can't quite remember my mindset at the time of initially composing that list (although, I was a quite bit more literate than I feel now...), but I imagine Don Quixote would come after the "required" reading and Franny and Zooey would be a bit of a "nightcap" to end it all. Don Quixote really did set the stage for literature writ large, I think (or, at least, the kinda literature I'm in to). Franny and Zooey I guess being more of a commentary on those who are sensitive and literate. A swan song.
For me, it’s my accomplishments in auto racing (both IRL and in iRacing). I used to autocross, for those unaware, it’s essentially time trial racing. Some courses are just cones in a parking lot, but our club also has access to a track so we had a mixed calendar (and even our parking lot courses were pretty dope).
But anyways, our regional club in Minnesota usually has 120ish drivers per event through many classes. In 2020 I actually won the championship for the largest and second most competitive class! There’s a little bit of an asterisk since it was Covid year and some quick drivers weren’t able to make the minimum # of events, but I still drove my ass off and it’s one of my proudest accomplishments. I actually have footage of my championship clinching lap that I’ll link below! I never won an event that year (I did in other years), but I was consistently 2nd or 3rd enough to grab it by a few points.
Since then I’ve actually become a faster and better driver, but I stopped autocrossing since you usually have to spend 8 hours at the track and only get to drive for 5-10 minutes due to the format and how many drivers we’d have. But in iRacing, from 2020-2023 I was relatively unaccomplished. I was a consistent driver, but usually not quick enough to earn podiums. Well, something started clicking in mid 2023 and 2024 and I ended up earning four podiums at team endurance events as well as my first win in 2024! I had definitely won normal races in iRacing before and had won a race in my indycar league, but endurance events are ultra competitive and winning just one is such an accomplishment that I’ll never forget it!
I did also do a season of karting and won rookie of the year, but I don’t think I managed to win a main race (I won a few qualifying/heat races).
I do want to get on the track more IRL, but because of covid, health events, and money, I haven’t been able to get back out there (I can autocross again, but I don’t want the time commitment for how little seat time it is). I plan on going wheel to wheel racing eventually but I keep having to push it off every year again. Like I kind of need a house so I have a spot to keep a race car and a trailer and then even a cheap wheel to wheel race car is like $10k, then tires costs, safety equipment, etc.
Anyways, here’s a taste of autocross:
https://youtu.be/Ay-mVx_WBF4?si=lw2ygimouexNQuaR
https://youtu.be/C2kS-kjwPVY?si=TymuSrW7ls-Ikhnt
That's awesome, man! Those autocross videos look very fun, but I feel you, I bet the iRacing endurance races feel waaaay harder to win.
Yeah, endurance can be brutal, especially when so much can go wrong besides your own driving. You could drive perfectly and another car takes you out or a teammate makes a mistake. Mentally, it’s incredibly difficult, but that first endurance win had me more emotional than my autocross championship or any other win. So many things just had to go right besides my own driving and it was a race where I personally had blistering pace compared to normal and my teammate for that one was very quick that day, too (normally I’m kind of the “hold the fort” driver on my team that can be consistent and mistake free while my faster teammates take their breaks).
Also, hell yeah, I’m proud of your accomplishments, too! Beating depression and poverty is not fucking easy, I’ve had to deal with both as well, so I know how you feel about it.
Thanks man :) yes, it definitely feels good to have conquered those two.
Damn, you rock. I felt those celebrations! Racing is one of those things I've always wanted to do but suspect I don't have the patience to put in time actually getting good at it. heh.
I hope you're able to get back to doing more of what you want. You have the talent for it.
When I graduated undergrad, a professor I was close with told me that when I walked she told the guy sitting next to her (a well regarded professor) that I was the best social theory student shes ever taught. She's almost retired (a year and a half left I think) so I am pretty confident that no one will beat me. It's not anything real but for my imposter syndrome it was a crazy high I still haven't come down from.
That's a great achievement! As a teacher myself, even unconsciously, I keep track of my "best" students every year. That teacher definitely had solid reasons to say that, backed up by years of experience and years of evaluating students. You 100% deserve it.
Ooh, this is nice! I'm proud of:
I have always been optimistic by nature. I had plenty of dark times but I eventually try again. A lot of people seem to feeeze indefinitely after a painful event either in love or in other areas. They turn that failure into a self fulfilling prophecy. Not me. I am very familiar with failure and psychological suffering. But I will try again eventually.