What does personal responsibility mean to me? According to Dictionary.com, “Personal Responsibility is the state or fact of being responsible, answerable, or accountable for something within one’s power, control, or management.” I am taking responsibility to complete my degree. I need to take responsibility for my academic work just like I do with business, I need to finish what I start, and if I take responsibility I will incorporate effective strategies as a student. First, I need to take responsibility for my academic work just like I do with business. It seems that most of my life has consisted in working for myself or for my business. After I dropped out of school and got married I opened up a family restaurant in the Oroville area called Cassidy’s Family Restaurant. We were very successful. Usually a restaurant needs to watch their food and labor numbers very closely but because we had huge volume it wasn’t necessary. At our high point we were bringing in $137,000.00 a week! One year later we opened up a second restaurant in Chico. Here, we did well but I was responsible for two growing, profitable restaurants. After five years I got out of the business and got into Real Estate. This new venture was slow in the beginning. I performed all of the normal marketing procedures that a Real Estate agent would perform and eventually became very proficient. This lead into opening my own agency which was very profitable but I decided to downsize in order to finish my degree. Using these examples, if I apply the same techniques and responsibilities to completing my degree then I should be ready to succeed. Taking responsibility for my academic work like I have with business I will be able to complete my college education. Next, I need to finish what I started. A college education is very important to me. Because I lacked a college education I could not get the high paying job I wanted with a corporation. I needed to make a healthy monthly income and without a college education the only way to make a lot of money was to start your own company. Presently, it’s a good time to finish my education because money is stable and I have the patience to work through the classes. Also, my degree is probably the most important piece of my life that I have not completed and I am committed Lastly, by taking responsibility for my education I take responsibility to incorporate effective strategies as a student.. My college journey started in the late 80’s and it continued until 1993. I started at the local junior colleges and eventually transferred to U.C. Davis. My first year at Davis was a disaster! I was trying hard to fit in and lived off campus which was ridiculous. The quarter system was new to me and classes went by so fast. I did not take any responsibility for any of my actions. I started to miss classes and tests. Trying to catch up was a nightmare! Thinking back I really could have used more direction with my education. A good example is the exercises that we are completing in class right now. It feels refreshing learning more about myself and how I can actually fit into our class groups. Taking responsibility for my education will allow me to complete my education.
Lastly, by taking responsibility I will incorporate effective strategies as a student.
I will seek out advice from current successful students to succeed. According to Margaret M. Spieth in Optimizing Online Student Success: Strategies Utilized by technical College Students:
1) "Take advantage of face-to-face time offered with your online instructor when you feel the course material is not making sense. Don't go into the class thinking that no face-to-face contact is the best approach. Meet your instructor to answer questions/comments/concerns you may have that an email will not convey properly." 2) "Do not assume that an online class will be a breeze because you don't meet face-to-face." 3) "It is extremely important to know that it generally takes more time to complete an online class than a traditional class, ranging from 4 hours to 25 hours of your time per class, per week. Plan your personal and online life accordingly and your family will still want all/most of their time -even if they have offered to make sacrifices." 4) "It's wonderful to take when you work and have a family. Wish there were more classes like this!" pg 140
In Conclusion, it is time to take control of my future education. Through the years I have started and ran successful business but always felt a little incomplete because I did not complete my education. Using the tools and taking responsibility for my education as I did with my past businesses I should be successful. I am taking responsibility to complete my degree. By doing so I need to take responsibility for my academic work just like I do with business, I need to finish what I start, and if I take responsibility it will be easier to complete my degree.
Reference
Spieth, Margaret M. (2009). Optimizing Online Student Success: Strategies Utilized by technical College Students, 140. Retrieved from ProQuest LLC
responsibility. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved September 16, 2014, from
Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/responsibility
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
(Introduction) According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary personal means relating to the person or body and responsibility means the quality or state of being responsible such as a moral, legal, or mental accountability. Fritz Perls, the father of gestalt therapy, said that, “responsibility meant that we all have the ability to personally respond – “response-ability”. Perls also referred responsibility to the ability to move, feel, live, and change you. So, to my understanding, personal responsibility is one’s ability to care for what has been entrusted to them. It is when an individual accepts the outcome of whatever actions or decisions he/or she makes, instead of blaming other people for what did not turn out right. Personal Responsibility is important to me because it is something that I am supposed to have as a child of the Most High God. In this essay, it is my goal to define what personal responsibility is and what it means to me, explain the relationship between personal responsibility and college success, and give an example of how I plan to practice personal responsibility in my education.…
- 935 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Personal responsibility is the key to academic success because each individual is responsible first for their personal, professional and academic success. Each person must take responsibility for their academic success because it cannot be achieved by anyone else, and blame for failure cannot be passed on to others. The most important reason personal responsibility is the key to their personal, professional and academic success is the fact that failure to take responsibility will severely limit a person’s ability to succeed at any level.…
- 1226 Words
- 5 Pages
Better Essays -
Personal responsibility is extremely important in life because it dictates the quality of your life. Your life is directly affected by the level of personal responsibility you practice. The definition of personal responsibility is vague and broad. It is comparable to defining a personality trait that includes several traits in one. These traits include ethics, moral decisions, freedom of choice, self-discipline and accountability. Personal responsibility also plays a vital role in your success as a student. Your success as a college student has a direct correlation with personal responsibility. As a college student it is also important to have strategies in place for your success. Having a plan on how you are going to succeed keeps you on track and helps you to enhance your personal responsibility. Personal responsibility does not have the same meaning for everyone or the value that is placed on this practice.…
- 1801 Words
- 8 Pages
Better Essays -
Responsibility and accountability go hand in hand in everyday life and situations that may occur. How would someone use responsibility and accountability in life? There are multiple ways you could use either of the two. Apart of growing and becoming a mature adult is learning responsibility as well as accountability.…
- 451 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Even though when I do not take personal responsibility I am more likely to blame others, personal responsibility means to acknowledge responsibility for my choices and being accountable for my own actions because the actions you take in life, affect your college success and by setting goals in the beginning you can stay focus throughout your college education.…
- 299 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
If one is responsible in their personal life one will be responsible in their college life. “When applied to education, personal responsibility means that students accept the responsibility to study hard and to learn as much as they can in courses that press against the limits of their capacity” (Haskins 2009). Being responsible is something one has to do in their everyday life…
- 747 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Personal Responsibility means taking accountability for my own actions, accepting whatever consequences come from my actions, and then understanding how to improve or make necessary changes. By staying organized, setting personal goals, keeping my stress level to a minimum, and staying focused, I can achieve college success.…
- 335 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
To me, personal responsibility means taking responsibility for my actions and decisions and any consequences that may come from them either involving me or others. The three components that I think are required to accomplish this are to establish the level of personal responsibility I require I will need to monitor my success, develop my own study habits by setting reasonable standards, and, finally, having a positive attitude about it.…
- 1110 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
Personal responsibility is vital to college success. Personal responsibility means taking an ownership in the college experience. When a student takes ownership in his or her experience, there is no excuse for…
- 1142 Words
- 5 Pages
Better Essays -
To effectively achieve personal responsibility you must hold yourself accountable for what you’re trying to accomplish. You must take charge or your actions by practicing discipline and using time management skills. If you can master this art, it can be translated to any aspect of your life, including college success.…
- 272 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
What does personal responsibility mean? To me personal responsibility means that I am responsible for what I choose in life. I have to hold myself accountable and cannot blame others for the choices I make. Jake Lawson wrote on the Livestrong.com website, “Accepting personal responsibility includes but is not limited to: acknowledging that you are solely responsible for the choices in your life and accepting that you are responsible for what you choose to feel or think” (Lawson, 2011). That statement is very profound and powerful. It is easy to place the blame on others but all that really does is hold us back from finding our true potential. We cannot use scapegoats to hide the fact that we possibly make bad decisions in life. Whichever direction my life heads, I am the captain of this ship and I cannot let others control what I do. I have control over my emotional responses to outside interference and must live with the consequences of my actions. In the Pacific Philosophical Quarterly 89 (Issue 4), 497-515, Dana Klein wrote ‘people are responsible when they act with the ability to do the right thing for the right reasons, or a good thing for good reasons.’(Klein, pg. 497) What exactly does that mean? It means that if we choose not to do the right thing or make bad decisions, they have not shown personal responsibility. I have to be willing to improve myself professionally, academically and personally in life. I can never be complacent or else I will never accomplish more and…
- 1255 Words
- 6 Pages
Better Essays -
Responsibility is the act or process of being responsible. Persons that are considered responsible are accountable for their own action and/or expressions. A great way of defining responsibility is doing what’s right or following through with obligations. Personal responsibility is being accountable for oneself such as staying healthy, managing emotions and treating yourself and others with respect. “Responsibility is an important virtue, but not an amiable one” (Lucas).…
- 636 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Personal responsibility to me is acknowledging responsibility for actions and decisions made, accepting the consequences that may follow from them, and understanding that others around will be involved. Every day choices or decisions are made from experiences taught or from experiences learned. The only choices people want to be responsible for are the decisions considered honorable or right. People also make bad decisions but do not want to be accountable for them. In life the choices made will guide the way people live whether responsible or irresponsible. Only be responsible for he/she decisions. As noted by Ron Haskins (2009), “Personal responsibility is the willingness to both accept the importance of standards that society establishes for individual behavior and to make strenuous personal efforts to live by those standards. But personal responsibility also means that when individuals fail to meet expected standards, they do not look around for some factor outside themselves to blame.”…
- 1426 Words
- 6 Pages
Better Essays -
The pathway to successful future begins with taking a close look at the ability to commit and be accountable for all actions even when no one is looking. Making the right decision and understanding that there will be challenges along the way can definitely prepare the body and mind to readily face them head on. The personal responsibility of an individual plays an important role to reach the ultimate goal to be successful. Personal responsibility pertains to our ability to discipline ourselves as well as taking a responsible approach and ownership on our career, education, family and most of all our actions. I believe that personal responsibility is vital to academic achievement of an individual because it can exercise self-efficacy, helps to recognize problems easily and manages time effectively to achieve success and happiness. There are many other factors in life that are struck by the effects of personal responsibility, but only a few are highly significant and usually kicks off the rest of the constructive effects. Establishing a relationship between personal responsibility and academic endeavor is very significant because it forms a ground rule to move forward and accept the reality of a decision made and what is destined to happen.…
- 1243 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
Since childhood, we have been taught about responsibility. Until there comes a time that we all have responsibilities that we must own up to. But, what we already have a sense of responsibility for all the things we have done? The answer is may be yes or may be no. So, what is the meaning of responsibility? Responsibility is the obligation/consequence to bear and do something that is given/assigned to everyone with awareness from ourselves. As a student, in order to reach my life success I must obtain certain type of responsibilities. These responsibilities consists of responsibility as a servant of God, as a student (ourself), as a child, and as a citizen.…
- 594 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays