Personal Responsibility

Personal Responsibility

The last twelve months of my life have been a sea of change. I decided to leave my job of six years, undertake a weight loss journey and pursue a Bachelor's degree. I thought about doing all those things year after year but never did. One day, it really hit me, my job wasn't opening doors for me, my education was lacking and I was unhealthy. As a result my quality of life was suffering. In order to gain new opportunities and improve my quality of life I needed to take personal responsibility. In the following few paragraphs I will state my definition on personal responsibility, describe the relationship as I see it between personal responsibility and college success, and outline my plan to practice personal responsibility during my education.

My Interpretation of Personal Responsibility

Responsibility as defined by Merriam-Webster (2012) as "moral, legal, or mental accountability" In my opinion, personal responsibility has many facets. Personal responsibility is the ability to take care of yourself by means of being healthy, managing emotions and keeping a sound mind. In addition personal responsibility is about being accountable to yourself, your family, and your career by making decisions which are not necessarily easy but will help you in your journey to new opportunities, achieve college success and overall well-being. Personal responsibility is also about taking ownership and being accountable for your life choices and not blaming family, peers or circumstances when the outcome is not what you expected. To be personally responsible, you must take on a positive, can-do attitude.

Personal Responsibility and College Success

College success needs to be earned; it will not just be handed to me. Nothing in my life has ever been handed to me or has come easy. My first experience in college is a memorable one. I decided a few years after high school that I needed to take the next step in life. I had always had a job and had the means to take care of myself but it wasn't enough. I went to a technical college and took Information Systems Technology. I had barely even turned on a computer before my first day of class. It was tough to manage a job and go to school for eight hours a day. My weeks were at a minimum of eighty hours. I had to work harder than almost everyone in the class, nothing came easy. Basic computer skills, programming and computer math, it was all very challenging. Over the course of two years I struggled extremely in some areas. There were many late nights, many tutoring sessions and a ton of commitment. The only reason I succeeded was because I was committed and kept working hard. Finally, after three years that included a five month break, I made it to the stage. Earning that diploma was the best moment of my life. I did it alone and earned it all with no shortage of sweat, tears and many sleepless nights. Haskins (2009) describes personal responsibility when applied to college success as accepting the responsibility to study hard and to learn as much as we can in courses that press against the limits of our capacity. Seeing this text in writing made me feel even better about what I achieved.

My decision to enroll again in college for my Bachelor's degree was not made lightly. I considered the financial burdens, time commitments and many sacrifices. I had done it before and had a pretty good idea of the challenges. I relate personal responsibility to my college success by making the same commitment to education to be a top priority in my life just as my career and motherhood are. I can really relate to the following as noted by Hardin (2008), "Other adult students enroll in college after spending years in