What actions have you taken that you are proud of?

…...talked my brother out of dropping out of college….. he’s now a damned fine physician, if I do say so myself !............

Helped a friend kick heroin ( my girlfriend helped as well, maybe even took most of the work). He’s clean now, and he deserved it. What’s a little money to save a life eh? Great thing was I’d only known him for maybe two months.

Stood up to someone who had abused my when I was a child.

Currently working, going to school and being a mom. I am proud of myself every day.

I stopped for a dog on the expressway here in my city. Poor guy was walking down the merge lane and everyone was to busy to stop and help him. I LOVE animals and had to stop. I coaxed him over with a muffin from my lunch and he turned out to be very friendly. I got him to my car and inside safely. Called the vet number on his tags. His name was Canyon and it turns out he was deaf. He was sooo skinny so I fed him my whole lunch and brought him to the local pet shop for a good bath and some treats (he was soooo dirty!) The pet store pampered him for free being happy to help out a lost pooch. The vet clinic was able to get ahold of the owner and she called me; Canyon had been missing for almost 2 weeks :( I bought him a new squeaky for the drive home and he was returned safely to his owner.

I am always so proud of that story because a group of us came together to get Canyon home safely <3 Compassion is such a beautiful thing – LB

Wow @ellebee that’s awesome!!

@Menekali thanks so much! I was on such a natural high for days after that and everytime I think about it I get soo crazy happy that Canyon made it home safe! – LB

A friend mailed me this morning with a problem she’s having that’s causing her a lot of distress. She asked me for my opinion on it & what I thought. I wrote her back quite a lengthy reply. I soon got another message from her (I can’t remember her exact words) but the gist of it was that I hadn’t let her down & she valued what I’d told her. That made me feel good. I’m not Ann Landers, but I try to listen & give support to my friends whenever I can. I know she’d do the same for me.

That my friends seek my advice.

My success in my career, most notably when I was a Cosmetic Buyer for Bloomingdale’s.

I am proud of the patience I have with people. I really don’t mind having to explain myself three ways if someone is having trouble understanding me, as long as they are making an honest effort to understand. I enjoy explaining things to children and listening to them ramble on. If people are mentally impared for whatever reason I rarely get frustrated.

I’m proud that I decided to leave my druggie and fun lifestyle at my 1st college and move states away to a new school, where I graduated with a kickass GPA.

@Likeradar 10 GA’s. Good for you!!!!!!!!! :-)

@jbfletcherfan Thanks! It was really hard, but my future and mental health were counting on me… I’m glad I didn’t let myself down. :)

@Likeradar I am, too. You were smart enough to see the destructive road you were traveling down & you had the guts to stop it & do something about it. You are to be commended. :-)

I made a quart of fresh squeezed carrot juice for an ailing friend today, and delivered it right to his door.

@Psychedelic_Zebra Carrot juice? How lucky is he? My eyes are crossed LOL

@jbfletcherfan I would expect nothing less from you than to take the time to write a wonderful note to someone in need, that really meant something to them!
Proud to call you friend.

@Skippy Aw, geez. Thanks, honey. :-)

Wow! I find it very heartening to hear these stories. It makes me feel good to know people have so much to be proud of!

Volunteering on 9/11

I like that I rescue abandoned houseplants from the mean streets of New York City. And that I go out of my way to take most insects and spiders outside instead of squishing them. And that all my pets are rescue animals. I wouldn’t say I’m proud of these things, though. I guess I’m more proud that I am able to have a fun, druggie lifestyle and maintain a great GPA. But that wasn’t what first jumped to mind; I’m obviously piggybacking on Likeradar up there.

Pride is a really loaded word, and thinking about it more, I’d say I’ve actively avoided taking pride in anything I do. As Miss Maudie told Jem in Mockingbird, “People in their right minds never take pride in their talents.” That line always stuck with me.

Continuing to live with and support my extended family, raising two kids while completing two degrees, taking time out for myself to do yoga and dance tango and for deciding to forgive…that one time

@wildpotato Isn’t there a difference between taking pride in a talent which may be innate and taking pride in some action you’ve taken or something you’ve accomplished?

Together with my husband, I defended my son in middle school against a bullying vice principal on the strength of his word alone. Defense included direct confrontation in the presence of our lawyer (the accusation against my son was serious), a reenactment by witnesses, a professional transcription of the taped reenactment, and escalation to the school district superintendent.

My son was reinstated. We received a formal letter of apology from the district. The following school year, both the VP and the principal who had backed her up and refused even to hear my son’s side of the story (“I’ve heard what Miss B.—said, and that’s all I need to know”) were transferred to another school.

I was proud of my husband and myself for standing up for my son without any doubts, and I was proud of my son for being someone whose word we could rely on in the face of an overbearing authority.

I had always told my son, “If you always tell me the truth, I’ll always believe you.” That incident put it to the test. He came home and related the incident of being accused by the VP to us before we even got a call from the school, and we were satisfied that he had done nothing wrong. A little foolish, maybe, but nothing like what she said he had done.

Not running away when it seemed the easiest way to avoid hurting.

@janbb I think there is, yes. But darned if I can pick out the line between the two. For example, I guess I could say that I’m talented at playing the clarinet. I have an innate sense for rhythm and tone, and small, dexterous hands. But my talent at playing is worth next to nothing without practice.

The quote I used was Miss Maudie’s comment to Jem about Jem’s dad, Atticus Finch. Atticus’ talent was playing checkers. Seems to me that that’s another good example of something that straddles the line between innate talent and an accomplishment that is worked for.