I’m sure we all know somebody who has a shelf full of trophies and awards in their room. A monument to their numerous successes, no doubt. The wooden shelf by the door that is overflowing with gold and silver trophies and medals, a few ribbons hanging off the edge. It’s jarring and eye-catching. I have a problem with this. Now, you may be thinking “You’re just a bitter teen!” Yes. However, I’m the one writing this, not you. In addition, that is not the reason why I take issue with this practice. I take issue with the display of trophies because it’s tacky, and nobody wants to see you boast about your numerous participation trophies and medals. If someone is coming into your room, they don’t care that you won every soccer game you ever played. I sure don’t. 

You have all the options in the world to decorate your walls. Posters, hangers, paintings or photos, jerseys, stickers, sheets, lights- anything and you choose trophies. The tackiest possible option. They’re eye-catching and distracting, and they ruin the view. People feel obligated to ask about or mention them. “Oh, how’d you get that?” and then you are obligated to answer, putting you into this loop of meaningless conversation. Your room decor is not supposed to be your topic of conversation, that should be your job. It is your responsibility to be an interesting person. Trophies and awards cannot make up for a complete and utter lack of any meaningful or interesting personality. We’ve already all agreed as a society (or at least I hope we have) that people who make what they do- rather than who they are- their entire personality are annoying. I don’t want to hear you brag about how many competitions you’ve won, and I don’t care how good you are at basketball or spelling bees or whatever else your trophies are for. What I care about when talking to someone is them. Not their achievements or their skills, but them as a person. If I cannot discern someone’s personality because their whole personality is a shelf of trophies and awards, then that shelf of trophies and awards shouldn’t be there. 

Now, I’m not saying that the existence of trophies, nor having trophies, is bad. They’re monuments to your achievements and a big part of motivating people to continue improving. Earning trophies for your hard work and achievements is good! When I start to take issue is when these achievements are used as room decoration. There’s a fine line between  having trophies stored and seeable in a cabinet, and making them the centerpiece of your shelf or wall. One of these is acknowledging your achievements, and the other is drawing unnecessary attention to boost your ego. Think about it: Who would you rather be spending your time with?