CONFESSION: I am terrible at celebrating my own success.  How bad am I at it?  When I was in high school, I won 2 out of the 7 departmental student of the year awards.  They were for “English Student of the Year” and “History Student of the Year."  I also won other awards that night.  I did not show up for the award ceremony.  I chose to stay home and chill instead.  The next morning, my friends asked “Where were you?  They kept calling your name!”  I shrugged and said “Meh…it’s not a big deal.”

But it was a big deal.  Do you know why?  Because just 5 years before that night, I didn’t speak English and was in ESL class.  It was a big deal, but I played it small, because I felt weird celebrating my own success, like I didn’t deserve it.

I think got this trait from my great-grandmother.  You see, she never had a formal education (a privilege reserved for the males of the family), but she could recite and analyze classic Vietnamese epic literature from memory.  Imagine never getting past high school, but can recite Oedipus and Shakespeare from memory.  She did that.  She also learned and ran an Eastern medicine business.

But despite probably being the most brilliant brain in her family, she always willingly took a backseat to her brothers, sons, uncles… because that’s what she was raised to do.  If you told her how brilliant she was, she probably would have shrugged and said “Meh, it’s not a big deal.”

So I think it’s time I get over that.  We are brilliant because we excelled despite the obstacles against us.  And you should stop playing it small too.  Celebrate your success, even if it’s just with yourself.