In a country that values individuality, there are many boundaries that separate us. The clothes we choose to adorn our bodies, the people we choose to surround ourselves with, the creative content we choose to consume — it’s nearly impossible to find two people that share an identical sense of self. Despite our differences, however, there are many universal values cherished by a majority of modern society: kindness, empathy, trust, respect, courage, patience. In particular, the value of humility seems to be emphasized and reemphasized above all. 

Humility is one’s possession of a “modest opinion or estimate of one’s own importance [or] rank” (Random House Unabridged Dictionary). This may seem like an outrageous statement to those who have grown up absorbing sage advice to be humble, but I’ll continue on and hope to convince you otherwise — humility is outdated; humility is overrated. 

When we put our all into something — when we give our blood, our sweat, our tears and our years to something — why should we keep our achievements to ourselves? Why are we scolded, labeled as braggers, labeled as boastful if we dare to voice our victories? We should not feel ashamed to share our successes with our friends, our family — even strangers. Whether we’ve received a promotion at work, aced an exam, or even something as simple as perfecting a recipe. If our dedication, our determination and our diligence have led us to achieve what we’ve desired, we deserve to celebrate that. 

We can practice gratitude and recognize our privilege while also celebrating our achievements: it’s not mutually exclusive. Life is too short to minimize yourself in any space. We shouldn’t allow our humility to cloud our celebration. We should surround ourselves with people who are just as eager to celebrate our achievements as we are. In turn, we should pay it forward and hype the successes of the people we love. Above all, we should redefine “humility,” reinforcing to future generations that there is nobility in the refusal to silence our successes.