I remember being asked to list my greatest accomplishments back in 2015 and having my mind run completely blank. Student Collin Watts (‘17) stated that “To me, accomplishment is when you gain a feeling of happiness when you complete a task.” Daisy Rosenbach (‘17) added that “accomplishment is when you complete any kind of task that you’re very proud of.” You’d think that it’d be an easy thing to answer, but for me, this wasn’t something that was often thought of. It was easy enough for me to come up with some basic academic ones but those just didn’t seem to be enough. I mean, was that really all that I had to be proud of? Did that mean that I was only truly proud of a few meaningless high school assignments and awards that I had probably acquired from sucking up to teachers?

As I racked my brain thinking of what I had actually accomplished in 2015, a specific item came to mind- my mother’s birthday. It was something that my whole family and I had put so much thought and effort into. I wasn’t necessarily in charge, but I had a lot to do with it. I baked all of her favorite desserts and cooked all of her favorite foods. I was also in charge of the seating arrangements and let me tell you, with an Italian family as large and as stereotypical as ours, that’s quite the task. At the time, it seemed to genuinely make her feel happy and present, and in turn, that made everyone around her happy. She has a tendency to forget to be present and in the moment these days since she had become ill. Seeing the immense joy that flooded my mother’s face when she arrived to her birthday party was the greatest accomplishment I have ever made. Knowing that I’m even capable of making my mother that happy is a great feeling.

Too often these days, people pressure themselves about winning and being the best at everything. Our generation is so fast paced that we even forget that what we do really only has to be enough for ourselves. In such a competitive world, It’s easy to feel like we’re never doing enough. It’s important and gratifying to recognize the things we do for others out of pure compassion. That’s something to be proud of.

“Well I think accomplishment can’t be defined based on what society says it is,” said Mr. Cunningham. “Accomplishment can be something as simple as reaching out to someone in need, it can be measured in intangibles, it can be getting the job In the interview, it can be something as deep as finding real purpose. The depth and scope of accomplishment is impossible to define. People can accomplish things as long as they don’t limit themselves to society’s definition. Everyone is highly capable of accomplishing things when they don’t think of the definition.”

Not all accomplishments must be evident of scores or productivity. Occasionally, the most fulfilling things that we do in this world brings little to no recognition and yields no monetary results but trust me, they can feel just as satisfying.

Sometimes something is an accomplishment because it benefits someone else and you just enjoyed watching it happen. It is crucial to not overlook the many small, yet impactful accomplishments that you make.