One word that describes me? Maybe two: loyal and reliable.
I actually asked my daughter, Lizzi, this question, because sometimes the people closest to you answer more honestly than you answer for yourself. She immediately said the same word I had already been thinking: loyal.
I was glad she chose that, because loyalty matters deeply to me. In a world where people can drift in and out of each other’s lives so easily, I’ve always believed that if someone matters to you, they should know you’ll still be there.
But if I’m honest, there’s another word that belongs beside it: reliable.
Lizzi said if I tell someone I’m going to do something, they can count on me. If I say I’ll be somewhere, I’ll show up. I might be a little late—time and I have had a long-running disagreement—but I’ll be there.
That actually made me smile, because it felt true in the most human way possible. Reliability doesn’t require perfection; it requires follow-through.
Loyalty and reliability often travel together. One means I don’t easily walk away from people, responsibilities, or commitments. The other means I try to carry what I said I would carry.
I haven’t always gotten everything right, but I do hope that the people who know me best would say this: if Doug cares, he stays—and if he says he’ll come, he comes.
That feels like a good way to be known.
Copyright © 2026 Doug DeBolt.
