Would your younger self be proud of your accomplishments? Did you reach a certain expectation you had for yourself?

This question makes me think about what I thought of myself back then, and honestly, it frightens me a little. The fear of not becoming something, or being successful has always lingered in the back of my mind. What if I am never good enough? Am I giving enough of myself or have I given too much? I however would believe that my younger self would be quite proud of where I am at this moment in time. Give me 2 more months when more college results come in, and I’ll see how proud my younger self would be. Regardless of this, my past self would be shocked when looking at the rigor of classes I take, especially taking AP Calculus, struggling with mathematics my whole life. The younger me would also be proud of how much I have given back to my community, with community services etc. I think she would be upset with me on how I still view myself. I still see the overweight little kid in the mirror sometimes, and I become disappointed. Or I think negatively about myself and realize when I was younger, calories never existed, and exercise was just fun. Besides that, my younger self would generally be proud of me. For how much I have grown, with my body image and my friendships, younger Avery would be pretty content with seeing her future self. I don’t know if I will ever reach the certain expectations I have for myself, but I know I am growing and pushing myself in a good direction every day.  

Adina Tkachenko, Grade 12

“I would like to think that, yes, my younger self is proud of who I am…(pause). I have made decisions my past self wouldn’t like, but honestly, I know deep down I should be proud of myself and the younger me would be too.” 

Colin Buscarino, Grade 12

“I think that–yes, my younger self would be proud of what I’ve become. I feel like I’ve developed as a person and …have found my values and what makes me passionate. I am passionate about giving back to my community and doing everything I can to make a positive difference. With my academic career, I would always say I am proud of where I came from.”

Brianna Burton, Grade 12

“Definitely. I remember when I was at my older sister’s graduation and looking through the program, there were people with stars and special markings. When I saw the kids later graduating with special stoles on, I knew I wanted to be like them. I knew I wanted to look like that and have special recognition. So, that is what I exactly did, and that’s the main reason I did the IB program.”

Sofia Kalaitzis, Grade 12

“Yes. I think that I have worked very hard to get to the position that I’m at right now. (pause) In school, I feel like I have always given one hundred percent of my effort and my younger self would be happy knowing I never stopped working hard to get what I want.” 

Reese Coughlin, Grade 12 

“Yes, I would be proud of myself. I’ve worked very hard academically to reach my goals. I have found a place where I can balance my athletic endeavors to the high standards I set for myself  in school.”

Summary  

I wanted to ask only seniors this question because it is almost the end of our high school academic careers. I think asking anyone this question they would say yes, but in the interviews, many people had to stop and think why their younger selves would be proud of them. I did not tell them how lengthy their response should be, and they could have simply said yes or no without giving evidence to support why. With this being said, this question triggers something more meaningful with its response; it brings out a vulnerable side to us and lets the interviewee brag a little bit. You are never really allowed to list all your accomplishments without being judged, but this question allows for the interviewee to do just that. They can remember how much they have done in their life, or how little and that question was motivation. Sometimes it’s good to reflect and say would little me be proud of this? Regardless of the answer, you can go back in time, and see how much you have changed as a person. So overall, even though the response did not spill every last detail or memory as to why their younger self is proud of them, I know my question lingered with them afterward.