Being the first in my family to attend college and move away from home is a huge accomplishment for me and is one of the hardest things I have done in my life because I had absolutely zero moral support from anyone.

It really taught me to be independent and live for myself. Along the way I did meet people who support my decisions because they are mine and do not judge me if I live in a way that does not please them. I am grateful for these life experiences and am now much more open to challenges and risks.

Graduating from the toughest police academy in CA.

And...
Walking away from my career to be a stay at home mom. Putting my family first.

I totally agree with TidalWave; however I was the first in my family to graduate high school among my siblings they all dropped out. It's weird to go to college when you have no support at all. I not only got my BA but my MSIMC as well and I feel like that is a great accomplishment. I look forward to more.

A few years ago I decided to change my career into something totally unrelated. I'm not going to say it was easy or fun but the closer I come to finishing school, the more proud I was for "taking the road less traveled."

It also helps that I got my very first job in my new career yesterday. HOOORRRAAAYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm proud that I was able to put myself through undergrad and grad school, while working full-time and really advancing my career. I am in my late 20s and have gotten very far in my chosen field (most of the people I manage are older than me). I am the president of an important association in my field, engage in speaking opportunities, publish articles, and network with the best of them.

Also, I am very proud that I was able to buy my first home without help last year.

My family is full of educated people, but I am the youngest and by far the most motivated to be successful in achieving a prominent work life and a happy home life.

Graduating from college with a 3.8 GPA is something that I'm proud of. I worked hard and it paid off.

Since graduating, I went back to school and got another degree, all while working full-time. I'm in the middle of a Masters degree program now, and I'll admit, I'm going through it verrrryyyy slowly. But I'm still proud of myself for going for the goals I've set for myself.

I also feel proud of what I do everyday at my job...I try to make a difference in the lives of my students (I'm an 8th grade teacher), and when I see that I have impacted them in some way, it feels good.

I just read the article, it was very inspiring! Here are my favorite bits:

"I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life in an environment that was negatively competitive. There’s room for everyone to be successful."

"During my climb up the corporate ladder, I saw some women who didn’t have enough confidence and other women who might make a fight when there didn’t need to be one."

I totally agree that there is room for everyone and I also find it hard to work with women who make things personal that don't need to be. I try to consistently encourage the women I manage and keep them believing in their abilities.

At 13 I moved to a foreign country, made new friends and learned a new language. At 23 I graduated from College. The first in my family (I changed majors and went from a private college to a public college, lost tons of credits). Just this year I decided to change my career to something completely different and now I'm looking forward to moving on.

I started my own business at 26.

moved across the country, started establishing myself, and started my own website.

I'm a third year Ph.D. student, and I'm STILL the youngest in my program, because I'm the only one they accepted straight out of undergrad, without several years of work experience or getting a masters' degree first. I love being ahead of the game, and I love that I was determined to go straight into grad school without wasting time (when you're in a 6-7 year program, followed by 5ish years of being a post-doc, you just want to get started so you can have a real job before you're 40!) and that's exactly what I did.

Gosh, there's a lot I've done that I'm proud of. I've accomplished everything that I've set my mind to do.

Right now, the achievement I'm happy about is being debt-free. It is very freeing. Right now, I'm working on another personal goal.

I was proud of myself when I finished the IB Diploma Program with good results. I was proud when I finished in the top 5% in my class during the first two years of college.

Unfortunately, since then I haven't done much to make myself proud.
I got accepted to one of the best master programs in Europe, so hopefully I'll finish it. That will make me proud. Unlike many who commented before me, I come from a family of summa cum laude graduates and PhD pursuers and sometimes the expectations are really high, so I usually only feel proud until I start comparing myself with my family members

i was valedictorian of my high school class, graduated NYU with honors (and am financing it myself), and i self-released my cd last year!

getting promoted from sales associate to business manager within a 2 month period

getting promoted from sales associate to business manager within a 2 month period

1. cutting up my credit cards
2. not spending so much money!
3. meditating/praying on a regular basis
4. training myself to crave apples instead of chocolate
5. organizing a wedding, getting a Master's degree, teaching and writing at the same time!

Thanks for posting this!! We should pat ourselves on the back more!!

I'm proud that I spend my life trying to make others' better. Everyone I meet tells me, in their own words, that I inspire them to be a better person, or that they're better just for having known me, or that I'm too good for this world. The most important thing to be a success at is life.

This year I had a review at work, and I didn't get a raise. Later, I kept wishing I had asked for one because I really felt I deserved it. So, I asked my boss if when I had my year review, if I got a raise it could be retroactive starting at the time of this six month review. I felt like this was a savvy move since his reasoning for not giving me a raise was that we didn't have any money at the moment. He agreed to the conditions and it was my first real business negotiation, so I was really proud of that. Also, this year I gave my first keynote presentation, and I finally felt like one of those real live business ladies giving power points to a room of people. Squee!

After reading the stories above, Ladies you rock!! It is very refreshing to be a part of a site with intelligent, hard working, and cutting edge women!

I have several things:

1. Graduating high school (2004).
2. Going to college, and finally figuring out what it is I want to do with my life (journalism).
3. Being there for my parents while both of them were/are going through cancer.
4. Being a good girlfriend for 4 years and counting.
5. Becoming a better poet with each piece I write.

There are more, but those are the ones that come to mind right away.

Wow, what a great post idea Savvy! It's cool to read about all the things people have achieved on here.

Some of my more recent proud moments:
1) Getting into and completing a well-respected and difficult-to-get into joint college-university program. Graduating with my goal of 3.5 GPA for both parts of the program!
2) Getting some fantastic jobs in my field and promotions! I also worked with my country's #1 most-respected broadcasting corporation and had a lot of success there. I was the second-youngest person in the building!
3) Turning down a career-related job and spending the summer teaching English in China.
4) Turning down some fantastic career opportunities @ home in order to pursue my dream of living in the UK for at least 1 year.

Way to go ladies!

I'm a Mathematical Olympiad finalist in Poland. I didn't have to apply to college thanks to that.

In college, I am getting two degrees, math and computer science, when each of these is a full-time job.

I also speak fluently 3 languages.

This being said, I must add I was given a lot in life. Growing up in France helped with the languages. A special math class in high school helped with all the math stuff. Not having to work in college is also nice. So I'm proud, but also thankful.

graduating both hs and college w/ nearly a 4.0 gpa.

living in europe several times while attending school.

getting my MA.

moving to NYC and making it despite doubt from my family.

pretty awesome.

I moved abroad at 21-22 for my studies, and recently graduated from a masters in English Lit from a great university. I'm proud of myself for doing all of that, in a language which is not my own, and with the results I got. I presented articles at grad. conferences (I was the only MSc student there), and a chapter of my dissertation is to be published in two months. For all of that, graduation was one of the best days of my life.

It makes me feel good about myself, and I also see that as a "HA HA!" to all the people (esp teachers but also so-called friends) who snobbed me at school because I was in a scientific section but wasn't brilliant at maths. And I'm also proud that I have such a great and loving family, who support me through everything I do. Doing everything in a different language all the time is less easy than I want to admit, I should definitely give myself more credit for that instead of focusing on any single word I didn't pronounce right.

Congrats to everyone! It feels good to remember what we achieved and not to keep remembering things that didn't work as well as we wanted. So thanks for the thread, Savvy!

I'm so impressed by everyone's posts! Especially those how have had achievements in foreign countries, or by speaking other languages. I am USELESS when it comes to linguistics, so I am always impressed by those who can speak in multiple tongues.

being fearless in my attempt to land a dream internship! i believe so strongly in my dream, and it helps to be focused on a goal

I was the first grandchild to graduate from college.