Personal Responsibility is a Master Key to Many Successes Teri Warrick GEN 200 Dr. Ward July 18, 2013

Personal Responsibility is a Master Key to Many Successes Personal responsibility is something taught and learned. It is accepting and owning one’s own choices and actions regardless of the consequences; to take complete ownership of one’s physically, emotionally, and psychologically self. Acceptance of personal responsibility requires integrity, commitment, and dedication. Possessing the ability to recognize how some decisions and actions can affect the people around you. Parents teach these values to their children at a very early age. Parents teach commitment by encouraging children to follow through with a promise, dedication by encouraging them to keep trying, regardless of how many times they may fail, and accountability if they choose not to. These are all building blocks to learning personal responsibility. As a mother and a college student, I have the personal responsibility to dedicate myself to my children and my education. I have had to utilize all resources available to me to be successful at both, and it takes honest commitment and dedication to achieve that success. Balancing family and school is a huge personal responsibility and I strive with honesty and integrity to be the best parent, teacher, and student I can be. There is an enormous correlation between personal responsibility and college success. A person cannot obtain one without maintaining the other. As a parent and a student, I have the benefit of continuing to teach my children personal responsibility along with college success through my own personal examples and experiences. My children have the benefit of witnessing firsthand, that personal responsibility is a master key to many successes in life, especially in college and as a parent. Having the ability to accomplish many successes in life starts with integrity as this allows us to learn how to dedicate ourselves to the commitment and completion of tasks and goals. For example, if a person begins college, they have the personal responsibility to dedicate themselves to his or her education, he or she must commit to attending classes, and completion of assignments to ensure he or she graduate. If that person decides to skip classes and postpone completion of assignment, they must accept personal accountability if they fail classes or do not graduate as a result. As a mother and a student, I have to dedicate myself to my children and my education. I have the personal responsibility to balance my family and school. For example, I have a sick child, an essay due, and class in the evening. It is my personal responsibility to make sure I can accomplish the assignment and attend class while making sure my child is safe and taken care of. It is not an easy task to be successful at one, let alone both. Especially when a parent has no help, no assistance, and no support system; struggling to accomplish all of this on their own, to give their children a better life, to give them a positive role model. Research has shown that mothers perceive their children’s care, transportation, housing, and finances to be a critical factor in their academic success and sources indicate (Family Care Solutions 2010) resources are limited or non-existent in these areas (Lovell, Elyse D’nn (2011). Integrity and determination set in at these difficult times. I have to utilize all resources available to me as a mother and a student. Curtis Bickham said (G. Wol, Parents in College Must Juggle Responsibilities) “Parents in college utilize school resources more effectively than traditional age students because they are mature enough to understand how valuable the school resources are for them.” (paragraph. 14). Personal responsibility as a mother and a student means caring for my children; showing them, the value of dedication by completing my assignment; showing them the value of commitment by attending class. Teaching them personal responsibility by not using my sick child (providing I have someone to care for her) as an excuse to not complete my assignment or attend class, no matter how justified it may seem. It is my responsibility to ensure I am capable of completing all my commitments and I am the only one accountable if I cannot. As long as I continue to strive to be the best mother, student, and teacher I can be; I will be the role model for my children that I have dedicated myself to becoming. Unfortunately, many people believe that success comes at any cost, though personal responsibility is not one of them. That if they fail at something, it is someone else’s fault. That success is only for the strong; those who are willing to step on anyone necessary in order to climb higher up the ladder of success. Success is hard work, and all too often many try to take the easy way to success; however, they have no idea that there is no such thing. Success only comes with hard work, integrity, commitment, and dedication As a mother and a student, there is no better way to teach my children than by example, and so far, college has been an enlightening and life-changing experience for my family and me. Through my experiences, examples, and teachings, my children have learned firsthand what integrity stands for, dedication means, and commitment is. Moreover, they have learned the meaning of personal responsibility and college success. Additionally, when you take personal responsibility and enroll in college, you are dedicating yourself to education, committing yourself to the challenges it will bring, and that no one is responsible for your decisions or actions but you. If you choose not to attend classes or complete assignments, you are accountable, no one else. If you truly dedicate and commit yourself to college, you will find that personal responsibility is a master key to many successes in life, especially as a parent and a student.

References: Rivers, C. (2011). Taking responsibility for your own learning: Maximizing training opportunities. Exchange Press Inc..

Wol, G. (n.d.). www.cpcc.edu. Retrieved from http://www.cpcc.edu/spark/archives/parents-in- college-must-juggle-responsibilities

Lovell, Elyse D’nn (2011) “MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE OF COLLEGE STUDENTS WHO ARE PARENTS COMPARED TO NON-PARENT COLLEGE STUDENTS”