“I’m proud of you” can carry a kid for a year. You’re allowed to say it to your parents too.

Few sentences travel further than being told somebody is proud of you. It answers a question most people are quietly asking all the time, and it gets replayed in your head long after whoever said it has forgotten. Parents are asking that same question and almost never hear the answer, because nobody imagines they need it.

Say it this week to one person who would not expect it from you. A parent counts, and the awkwardness of that lasts roughly four seconds. Name the specific thing you are proud of, so it cannot be waved off.