There are three moments in my life (at least recent moments) that I can remember being extremely proud of myself. I think they all speak for themselves, but a couple of them came without warning, they all come with stories and they all not only increased my feeling of self worth, but I think they also increased others' feelings of my value and worth. That is important to me.
Theological Hungarian talk - July 2010 - Yes, I lived and I worked and I ate delicious food in Hungary for about a year of my life. It was wonderful and probably one of the greatest experiences of my life. One thing that I regret (and only a little) is that I didn't exactly master the Hungarian language. Sure, I could speak it and my pronunciation was so on point that I was often assumed Hungarian when only one-word answers were needed. Unfortunately, piecing together a good sentence wasn't my strength. I could read and listen and understand almost completely... but yeah, that forming sentences/speaking/thinking and then relaying what I thought... those things were struggles. Toward the end of my year there, I was working for a camp on Lake Balaton. After dinner one evening, the question came up about how can God be good if so many bad things happen to good people. It's a classic question for those questioning. While I am fairly confident in discussing my beliefs in English, translating into Hungarian (or even Spanish) proved to be extremely difficult. However, it came up. And I can't remember how the conversation went.. but I do remember it being an actual conversation... complete with questions and responses. I walked away feeling so proud that I could not only discuss something that means a lot to me without getting defensive or deeply emotional, but I was also able to discuss it in a language I slightly regretted I hadn't grasped. In fact, I had.
Graduation - April 2013 - Finally. 12 years after graduating high school, I finally graduated from college. I started GVSU in August 2001 as a music education major. I finally finished as a Spanish major. I had finally finished. As I prepared for this day, I couldn't wait to walk across the stage of the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, MI and receive my 'diploma.' This excitement was quickly overshadowed by the fact that I hadn't tried on my graduation gown. Apparently they are NOT "one-size-fits-all..." and this girl has got some hips that are definitely not one size. The gown was more like a bodycon dress. Not attractive. No proud. However, aside from that moment, it was a great day. I had finished what I'd started. I had done what I had set out to do. I remember the happiness as if it were yesterday. So good.
Promotion - October 2013 - Of course, this is one of the most recent proud moments. It came completely unexpected. I've already blogged about how it came about and included a lot of my feelings about it, so I won't bore you with that again. Here's a link to that post. However, I was so proud of myself. It was only due to my hard work and abilities as an intern that I'd even gotten noticed. I'm sure some divine intervention, as well, but I'm so thankful that my freewill choice was to do what I was asked to do to the best of my abilities no matter what.
So, what about you? What are some of your most proudest moments?
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