What are you most proud of?

Originally asked

Vogue, to one guest at a time, on camera, 73 Questions

Vogue's 73 Questions repeatedly asks respondents to select the work, relationship, or achievement that makes them proudest.

You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.

Recorded George H. W. Bush said elsewhere, not written here
This may sound like a cliché, but I’ll put it this way. The proudest thing in my life is that my children came home. The proudest moment of my presidency, domestically, was when I signed a piece of civil rights legislation known as the ADA, doing something for the disabled. A massive piece of civil rights legislation that put disabled people, 50 million of them, into the mainstream, or at least removed legal obstacles to their being in the mainstream.

Academy of Achievement interview, Williamsburg, Virginia, 2 June 1995 source ↗

Others on this question

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Bronwyn Katz South African artist and sculptor; co-founder of the iQhiya collective
Yes, exactly. The collective isn’t active anymore, but at the time, as black female artists, and also as students, we didn’t feel particularly acknowledged or seen as significant. So we thought, if we see each other, everyone else will be forced to see us, too. I felt so proud to be a part of something like that, and seeing the results that came from it.
Recorded The Talks, Emerging Masters series, 8 November 2023 source ↗
Jorge Moreira da Silva Executive Director of UNOPS; former Portuguese Minister of Environment
Yes, it's one of the things that I'm most proud of is the Iberian lynx was extinct. It was declared under extinction and with a new project funded by the European Union, Portugal and Spain started the process of recovering the Iberian lynx. And it took maybe 15 years to recover with the lynx being incubated first in a facility. And then finally there was a day where we have to feel sufficiently comfortable to release the first lynx and then to have the normal reproductive path in the environment. And it worked. Can you imagine? Even a species can be recovered. So, if there is a will, there is the way.
Recorded Melissa Fleming, Awake at Night podcast, series 13, United Nations, 2026 source ↗
Sarina Wiegman Dutch football manager; head coach of the England women's national team
I really love the medals but what I’m proud of most, absolutely most, is that now young girls have perspective, young girls can play football and young girls can wear shirts [with players’ names on],
Recorded Suzanne Wrack, Interview on the Sunshine Coast, Australia, before the 2023 Women's World Cup, The Guardian, 14 July 2023 source ↗
Leonor Espinosa Colombian chef; founder of the Bogotá restaurant Leo and World's Best Female Chef 2022
Getting Colombia to be recognized for its gastronomy, to have the eyes of the world on our cooking, is a great achievement that I am very proud of today.
Recorded The Talks interview, 7 February 2024 source ↗

More from George H. W. Bush

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Question Which trait do you most dislike in yourself? Identity & self
Nobody has ever accused me of being a superior communicator. If I could have conveyed to the American people the concerns I had, and my heartbeat, a little more clearly, maybe I would not be unemployed and retired. And I might not be this happy, either. I learned a lot from Ronald Reagan about communication. Never got to be in his league in terms of it, but he could say something and the American people might not agree with the issue, but they could empathize with him.
Recorded Academy of Achievement interview, Williamsburg, Virginia, 2 June 1995 source ↗
Question What is the best advice you have ever received? Time & hindsight
If I were to give advice to young people, high-achieving young people for example, I'd have to say, don't neglect your family. Politics is important, sitting at the head table is glamorous. Traveling around the world, trying to do something for world peace was wonderful. But family and friends and faith are what really matter in life. And I know that. I see it so clearly now. And so, as they climb the ladder of achievement, I'd simply say, remember what Barbara Bush told those girls at Wellesley: "What happens in your house is more important than what happens in the White House." And it's true. It's so 100 percent true.
Recorded Academy of Achievement interview, Williamsburg, Virginia, 2 June 1995 source ↗
Question What scares you about getting older? Time & hindsight
I don't want to be called a senior citizen, I feel like a spring colt. I don't want to be called a has-been, because there's things I want to do in life. But, I've been there and I'd say, "Don't let the bastards get you down." And they don't anymore, I don't talk to them anymore, so they don't get me down. I've got my family, and I've got so many blessings that I don't think I've earned, that I'm a very happy man.
Recorded Academy of Achievement interview, Williamsburg, Virginia, 2 June 1995 source ↗
Question What is the hardest thing that has happened to you, and what did you carry out of it? Failure & regret
If you really want to make a difference, whether it’s in helping other people, or whether it’s in fighting for your country, or whether it’s in the political arena, or journalism, or physics, you’ve got to persevere. You’ve got to understand that there are going to be some enormous bumps in the road.
Recorded Academy of Achievement interview, Williamsburg, Virginia, 2 June 1995 source ↗
Question Which living person do you most admire, and why? Values & belief
Abraham Lincoln truly inspired me. It wasn't just the freeing of the slaves, he kept the Union together. Some people even forget that today. What I think inspired me was the fact that in spite of being the president of the United States he retained a certain down-to-earth quality. He never got to be a big shot, and he cared about people.
Recorded Academy of Achievement interview, Williamsburg, Virginia, 2 June 1995 source ↗

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