Tyler Mass “What does quality mean to you? How do you bring quality to your trade of choice?” Quality to me is a standard that is set. Having a high standard of quality says a lot about oneself. Showing others that high standards is a priority, indicates that you care, not only for your craft, but also for other people. Having respect for your work and for clients indicates good workmanship. Quality control is a management system for any project and needs to be set for all people working on a project or design. It is important that guidelines are set to ensure that all people working on a project are hitting that standard of quality. Quality assurance means standards are met before, during, and after all projects or designs. It is important to stay on track with the expectation that is set: the jobs are being preformed professionally and neatly. Sometimes this means not only double checking your work, but triple checking and so on. To me quality is not about getting the job done the fastest, but getting it done properly, and professionally. I always intend to put in my best efforts in any craft I do. It is important to me to take my time and ensure that the job was executed to the best of my ability and knowledge. If I don’t know how to do something, I take the time to learn and research so that I can complete a job set on quality standards. Quality to me is also sustainability, security, efficiency, and unique creativity. If I feel as though I have not met these expectations that I set out for myself, I do not hesitate to go back to square one if needed. I implement this into my everyday life when it comes to the daily chores, household errands, financial budgeting, and college work. From a young age this has not always been the case; it’s come with trial and many errors. I one day decided that if I never was striving for the best I could be, I would never meet that as my end goal. Instead of shooting for “passable”, I began aiming beyond that. Working towards realistic goals, staying productive, proficient, and positive insures for everyday growth. Growing in every aspect of life is extremely important to me, for quality shines in every part of my life some form or another. One of my favorite quotes is from Matthew McConaughey, which reads: “Now when I was 15 years old, I had a very important person in my life come to me and say, “who’s your hero?” And I said, “I don’t know, I got to think about that. Give me a couple of weeks.” I come back two weeks later, this person comes up and says, “who’s your hero?” I said, “I thought about it. You know who it is? It’s me in 10 years.” So, I turned 25. Ten years later, that same person comes to me and says, “So, are you a hero?” And I was like, “not even close. No, no, no.” She said, “Why?” I said, “Because my hero’s me at 35.” So, you see every day, every week, every month and every year of my life, my hero’s always 10 years away. I’m never going to be my hero. I’m not going to attain that. I know I’m not, and that’s just fine with me because that keeps me with somebody to keep on chasing.”