When I think of quality, I think of the value of something or someone and what that thing or person can bring to the table to add or enhance my life or a situation. Quality is defined as "the standard of something as measured against other things of a similar kind; the degree of excellence of something." Quality is also defined as a distinctive attribute or characteristic possessed by someone or something," according to definitions from Oxford languages. When I was younger I told my parents I wanted to be a doctor and as I grew older, I started to changed my mind. My parents wanted all of their children to attend college and be successful at whatever career we chose. I have an older sister that graduated from Law School and when she graduated my parents bought her a car, so that was a big deal, and later on I asked my parents, when I graduate from cosmetology school would I get a car. Well, the answer was "No", so of course I asked, why not. My mother told me that they have a standard and they wanted all of us to graduate from college, and I explained that I might never go to college, but I plan to have a career, doesn't that count. At the time I did not understand, and I thought that was rather harsh, but it really was because they wanted the best for all of us and wanted us to be prepared for the world and they knew my other goals involved getting a degree. My feelings were hurt and I just thought that I would not live up to the standards they set and they would never want to buy me a car. My older brother graduated with an undergraduate degree and I graduated from cosmetology school and had joined the US Army Reserves first and later re-enlisted for Active Duty Army. My value was still quality, but if someone's standards are different than your goals, it does not mean that you are not a quality person, or your choices are not quality, it just means that you value different things than they do at any given time. I ended up completing my Associate's degree while I was on Active Duty in the Army and I was deployed to South Korea. A few weeks later I lost my father, so he never saw me graduate, and I was able to go back to the States in Texas and be a part of the graduation, but I lost my daughter a month before my graduation and none of my family was there. I am saying all this to say, I achieved some of the goals I set out to achieve, but felt like a failure in life because of all of my losses. I was divorced, lost my dad and my child within 4 months, but I got my degree anyway. My quality of life still was not where I wanted it to be, but I was determined to continue on with my life in the midst of my grief. I later got my Bachelor's degree, my Master's degree, and I have taken Doctoral classes. I lost my mother a year before I completed my Bachelor's degree, so she never saw me graduate, and that really hurt me, because I really wanted to make my parents proud of me, but I had to do what I chose to do for my life. The standards I set for myself, might be bigger or larger than someone else's, but I learned that I set that bar for myself and what I value is important to me. I want God to be proud of me and I want to use my gifts and talents to reach others and hopefully inspire them to be their best selves. Quality is important, but each person has something that that value more than another thing, and because I value myself and the things I have to offer this world, I consider myself a quality person, and I am enough for me, and I can always improve on things as long as I live. Be encouraged to find the quality in yourself that you seek in others. Have a awesome week.
Monique Lyn elle Gray
