Pride Paragraph.

I am proud of mastering a song, especially a rap. I can now do Lucky 1’s, I Heard You Had a Voice Like an Angel and Telephone pretty well. I am proud of writing bits and pieces of my own thing. Sometimes they make up a big thing, but they always start small, in little steps. I’m proud of washing my face and brushing my teeth every night, no matter how upset or tired I am. I’m also proud of myself when I do something nice for someone else, like sharing a cookie with them. I am proud of writing well-constructed sentences and coherent metaphors, with correct spelling and grammar. I am proud of myself when other people compliment me on my intelligence, appearance and some aspects of my personality. Although I am grateful for being thin, a compliment on my weight is not very significant because it’s not something I have much control over. I’m basically proud of being intelligent, pretty, kind, happy, funny and fun. However, I do not like to consciously acknowledge that I’m proud and I like to maintain a sense of modesty because I read in a Christian lifestyles book that:

“Humility has to do with submitted willingness. It involves a healthy self-forgetfulness. We will know we have begun to make progress in humility when we find that we get so enabled by the Holy Spirit to live in the moment that we cease to be preoccupied with ourselves” (The Life You’ve Always Wanted, 122)

“Humility is the freedom to stop trying to be what we’re not” (122)

Pride is something I struggle with in university, where the effort of my peers may be equal to or greater than mine, but the rewards are not evenly dispersed. Sometimes I even feel shame when I get rewarded, like when I get a scholarship or buy something for myself or am given something I can’t reciprocate. My life is so easy, but other people have so many problems; it’s not fair that they can’t have some of the easiness too. I see beautiful people as more worthy of my time than plainer people, upon first impression. When I get to talk with a person I view as less attractive, I see their beauty shine out all over their body through their kindness and personality. I think bodies are very personal markers of identity, so we shouldn’t be ashamed of them.