Personal Achievement

The other day I was driving down the road, sitting in Atlanta gridlock on a rare little-free outing, and I started thinking … what is my proudest, most illustrious, down right colossal, personal achievement? 

And even before the thought had fully formed, when it was just an inkling of an idea skittering about the outer reaches of my brain, I knew the answer…

I graduated from Georgia Tech!  I AM A GEORGIA TECH ENGINEER!!!!!!!!!!!!

 
It was hands down, without a doubt, the most challenging four years of my life.  There were times when I was wracked with exhaustion, and formulas and sequences and limits tormented my dreams.  There were nights when I called Mother and Daddy-O bawling, saying I just didn’t know how I could go on…begging them to come get me.  And there were moments when I wondered what crazy path ever led me there.  I mean, I was *supposed* to be a ballerina, for crying out loud. 



It all sounds dramatic, I realize, but it was darn HARD.  I’m not the kind of person that can hear something once and remember it, or can pick up a book the night before an exam and learn it.  I had to study every.single.day.  Sure, I had my fair share of fun, probably not as much as many others, but I never lost sight of why I was there.  I couldn’t.  And I didn’t.  I, the little so-Southern ballerina girl from Savannah, graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology as an Industrial Engineer.  It was a helluva ride becoming a helluva engineer!  That piece of paper has opened many doors, continues to offer countless opportunities, and engrained in me the traits of tenacity, hard work, problem solving, and persistence.  And it would bring me immense joy to see the littles become Yellow Jackets themselves.



This past week the 2013 Georgia Tech Freshman Convocation speech went viral – it’s an entertaining and reminiscent watch, particularly for the geeky.  Mark my words, Nick Selby is going far in life.  It’s not often that the world is offered a mechanical engineer that’s captivating, charismatic and passionate.   Trust me.

So, I want to know… What is YOUR proudest personal achievement?  I don’t mean the kids and the husbands – it goes without saying that we’re proud of those.  What did you do for yourself in this life that pushed you to your limits to achieve?  

xoxo