Getting that coveted position at work or being named valedictorian are wonderful accomplishments.
But while those achievements are nothing to scoff at, there are other moments in life outside the workplace or classroom worthy of praise.
A pat on the back for a job well done was sometimes more satisfying than a plaque on the wall for some of these people when Redditor Inevitable_jalapeno asked:
"What is your biggest non-academic, non work-related accomplishment?"
You might find some of these relatable.
Coming to the aid of those in their time of need or while in distress have got to be one of life's biggest accomplishments.
Stepping Up After Tragedy
"Adopted my little sister (16) when I was 21 after my father murdered my mother helped her finish school and kept a room over her head till she was old enough to move out on her own."
Passed Out And Saved
"When I was a kid, I saw a guy passed out drunk on the side of the road. Neither of my parents noticed, so I said something. We went back and my dad went to check on him. It was around 20 degrees Farenheit out and he was wearing a thin jacket and pajama pants. My dad (who is a paramedic) told me I quite possibly saved his life that night."
Lady In Distress
"Saved a lady from drowning at the Outer Banks about 10 years ago."
Upright Citizen
"I was driving down a two lane road one night and saw an upside down electric wheelchair. I thought to myself 'that's an expensive thing to trash' and then I saw an arm reach up. The poor guy couldn't talk and only had one working limb. He was cursing downy the road and caught the edge and flipped. His chair was too heavy and the landscape wasn't conducive for me to flip it alone. I called the ambulance which was 20+ min out and tried to flag passing cars down. No one stopped for about 10 minutes (~ 60 or so cars). Finally a truck stopped and the guy was able to help me flip him back up."
Animal Lover
"I saved over 100 cats in my lifetime and I feel happy thinking about it."
These laudable achievements make one feel as if they've arrived.
A Mouthful
"I ate a triple burrito in one sitting ten years ago, for which I won a t-shirt. I still wear the shirt from time to time."
Strawberry's My Jam
"Not that exciting, but I'm still pretty proud: winning a blue ribbon at a state fair for my strawberry jam. My husband loves to brag about it, and it makes me feel pretty special when he does."
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Season 6 Pats Self On Back GIF by FriendsGiphyMusic To My Ears
"My old band got played on a local radio station a few times."
– circa319
"The same thing for my band too. The university radio station liked us so much, they recorded one of our songs for a local music CD."
Magical Garden
"Growing veggies and herbs without killing them. And making pickles/jams/infused butter with the results. So that's pretty cool I guess."
Power Of Healing
"My stroke recovery. I can walk, use my left hand and I can cook again. Things aren't perfect but considering that I couldn't pick my head off of the pillow the day after last Christmas I am doing fantastic."
Impressive Play
"running the table at pool where after the other person broke and i sank every single one of my balls and the eight ball in one turn (i'm not usually good at pool). a stranger came up to me said it was one of the greatest things he's ever seen. I think about this often lol."
– fetanose
Taking care of yourself is an accomplishment that can be more rewarding than any trophy.
Growing A Backbone
"I stood up for myself with my family and set boundaries. Then I actually kept them."
"I had a very abusive and traumatic childhood. Standing up for myself when I was a child always resulted in pain of some kind. This was a huge step for me."
Play Stupid Games, Win Stupid Prizes
"Probably not the biggest but I flat out slapped this random man on the street after he grabbed my a** .My hand shook for almost the rest of the day but I was so proud of myself!"
– Kali_B
It's never too late to discover one's own hidden capabilities or talents and getting recognized for them.
Stranger In A Strange Land
"I moved to a foreign country where I knew only 1 person and didn't speak the language and managed to independently make it and now I call it home."
– mejok
Getting Crafty
"Taught myself to crochet. I'm not terrible at it."
"Me too! Go us. I particularly love chunky yarn - the projects finish faster that way haha."
Amateur Artist
"An artist at a major animation studio saw my fanart and shared it on their Tumblr, they commented on how funny they thought it was. That was years ago but it felt great."
Published
"I briefly became a published comic book author as a side hustle. My first issue sold out at a retailer level across the globe on day one. Super proud of that."
Throughout my musical theater performing career, I've been what's known as a swing. Swings are essentially an understudy for most of the male ensembles in a show and I would go on at any given time at a moment's notice to cover an injured performer or someone who called out sick.
That meant I had to know – in some cases – up to nine ensemble tracks and be able to integrate myself into the show seamlessly.
For every time I did not get shoved by a fellow performer for being in the wrong place on stage or missing a costume change, I gave myself a huge pat on the back by the curtain call.
And then I would go home and enjoy a glass or two of well-earned vino to calm my nerves from safely finishing the performance unscathed.
"What’s your wildest story that sounds too far-fetched to be true?"
Redditors' interactions with animals were either empowering or terrifying.
A Chihuahua's Hero
"Mine is when I was in high school I lived out in the countryside of Central Texas. I was just kind of bumbling around on the property and my mom's little chihuahua was tagging along. I heard a bird, saw a fast moving shadow, and threw my arm out, slapping a hawk out of the sky as it tried to get my mom's chihuahua."
"Cut my arm pretty good, but saved that little rat of a dog. The chihuahua went on to pass away at a smooth 19 years old."
– itsthattedguy
Brush With An Owl
"I worked nights in college. I'd always take my two dogs out to pee when I got home and one late night an owl tried to snatch my Chihuahua but thankfully missed. My golden retriever ran back inside like the owl was going to somehow take his 60lb a** but my chi stood his ground like he could take it on. I got him inside and was much more careful after that. He, too, passed at 19. I miss him."
– jacyerickson
"I was almost drowned by a pod of dolphins while surfing at Salt Creek, Orange County, CA. I got up on a wave and one of them knocked me over, 2 wave pin down on a 5-7 ft day."
– jppope
These could be plot points in a movie.
Reunited Leash
"I was surfing in Santa Barbara County when I was a kid, maybe 14 or 15. When I would come in from a surf, I had the habit of undoing my leash from my leg while I was walking in the shallow water. Unbeknownst to me, the other side of the leash that connects to the board had come off. I lost my leash. I searched around the tidal zone but no luck. I was bummed but I just moved on."
"Three weeks later, I was surfing in Ventura county, and as I was walking in from the surf, a piece of kelp wrapped around my leg. I reached down to pull it off. It wasn’t kelp, it was my leash I’d lost a dozen miles north a few weeks back. It had algae and stuff growing on it, but no mistaking it was absolutely my leash."
– shah357
The Origin Of Love
"When my dad and step-mom met, my dad swore he’d met her before, but couldn’t remember when or where. Eventually, he decided he’d seen her in Cody, Wyoming, the town where he grew up. She swore she’d never even been to Wyoming (she’s from Oregon and that’s where they met)."
"Several years later, after they’d been married a while, step-mom mentions to her mom that my dad swears he met her in Cody, but she’s never been there. Her mom says 'Yes, you have,' and pulls out a photograph from 1956 of her, age 9, riding on a mechanical horse (a kid one) and in the background, standing around in the crowd, is my dad and his two brothers, ages 8, 10, and 11."
"She submitted the story to a local magazine for a Valentine’s Day contest one year and won a trip to a resort."
"Some honorable mentions: By the time I was 20, I was 1 degree of separation away from 5 different people who’d been murdered by 3 different serial killers (gotta love the PNW), and I almost hit Bob Dylan with my car once."
– JessicaGriffin
Getting Lit
"First time I ever smoked pot a police helicopter hovered above me and my friend and hit us with the spotlight. They were looking for someone else apparently because they immediately moved on. Nonetheless…"
– igottathinkofaname
VIP Client
"I took my VW to the dealer to get some work done. The service rep at the counter was so hung over (possibly still intoxicated) that he couldn’t handle completing the paper work. He told the tech that I was a VIP, specifically 'Britni Spears’s brother' and that he owed me a favor, so the work was on the house and they just never did any paperwork, didn’t charge me a dime, did the work, handed me the keys, and away I drove."
– peteschirmer
These Redditors couldn't believe their luck.
Contest Winner
"I won a two week cruise vacation for two in a contest."
"I never entered the contest."
"I was convinced I was being scammed."
"Even from the beaches of the Caribbean, I still wasn't convinced."
– Tokiw4
The Generous Friend
"Was in Vegas for a work thing. I was not happy about being there because it was a tough time in my life, money was really tight and Vegas is the last place you want to be when money is tight."
"I was telling my buddy about it and he says, 'Im going to pay pal you $150. Go play the poker tournament at the Venetian at night. You can drink for free and hopefully you last long. If you win anything, pay me back, if not, no worries.'"
"So I did. Won the tournament! $3200."
"The second night, I went off to play some craps alone one night because I did not like the work people and did not want to hang with them."
"Started with $200. 45 minuted later I 7’d out and had $37,000. Cashed out and told no one!"
"On the drive back (I lived in Phoenix) I called my buddy and told him (only) about it. I sent him $2500."
– Raspberries-Are-Evil
Beginner's Luck
"The one time I went to Vegas at the proper age of 21, I won $2000 on my first spin on the 25c slot machine. I didn't gamble the rest of the time and enjoyed the fact that my trip paid for itself. Came home with all the money I left with and an extra $800. Didn't tell my bf I was with at the time either; he would have tried to spend my money."
– KnowItOrBlowIt
Given A Second Chance
"I went jogging one night and came across a lady laid out face first. No heart beat. Started doing cpr. Never saw another person was able to call 911 while doing cpr. Kept at it twenty Minutes till FD got there. She made a full recovery. They said cpr that long has a 95% fail rate."
– DullAd2253
A friend back in high school told me he was a vampire when he dropped me off from band practice.
This was at a time when Anne Rice was super popular and everyone was reading the Lestat books.
Being an impressionable 15-year-old at the time, I believed him, because he warned me that if I ever revealed his identity to anyone, "I will find you."
A couple of years ago, I reunited with a mutual friend and I joked about how I believed so-and-so was a creature of the night. We nervously laughed.
Whether my blood-thirsty friend was weighing on my conscience or not, I've been visited by him in COUNTLESS dreams ever since I told my friend about him.
Call it what you want–paranoia or self-fulfilling prophecy–but there are some things in this realm I will never be able to explain.
I'm just glad I'm still here to talk about it now that I let the proverbial cat out of the bag.
