Personal Responsibility Lindsay Bjornstad Gen200 11/21/11 Joyce Harrell

Personal Responsibility According to Webster's Third New International Dictionary Unabridged, the definition of responsibility is “Able to answer for one’s conduct and obligations.” ("Responsible." n.d.) From the same dictionary, the word personal is defined as: “Affecting one individual; not public or general.” (“Personal,” n.d). When the two definitions are looked at together, one can easily conclude what personal responsibility means. Personal responsibility is, as the definition says, being able to answer for and hold oneself accountable for their actions. As a college career starts, importance lies in a person being able to fulfill obligations. While in college, a student’s obligations are their courses. In order to have a successful college career, each individual student must realize that they solely determine the outcome of their schooling. While there are many outside interferences that can affect college success, personal responsibility is the biggest factor in college success. Personal responsibility is the biggest factor in a person’s college success. If one never holds themselves accountable for their success, they will never meet the goals they have set for their life. Individuals must be responsible for meeting the goals they set in their life. There is nobody else who is going to achieve the dreams of a diploma and a good job for them. Although accepting personal responsibility is important, remembering that there is a balance to personal responsibility is equally important. According to Garraway (1997), (to accept personal responsibility, we need to learn how to fail successfully. Don't go too far the other direction, however, and accept too much responsibility for actions. Accept appropriate responsibility for outcomes in your life. We should remember is that we cannot teach responsibility without predictability. Do what you say you will do. If you do not, people will start to ignore what you say. This applies to the work place as well as home.” (37). If someone does not accept responsibility for the situations they can control, they will set themselves up for failure. On the other hand, if they try to accept responsibility for the circumstances that are out of their control, they are setting themselves up for failure as well. Personal responsibility holds individuals accountable if they are unsuccessful in their college courses. Always blaming other people for one’s shortcomings gives an escape from responsibility. If a student cannot claim responsibility for their education, they will fail. The most important reason personal responsibility is the biggest factor in college success is that when people begin making decisions for their self, it will affect all areas of their life. College is a big leap into adulthood. For the majority of students, college is the first time being on their own, and it marks a time when they will begin to learn about the person they want to become. The skills learned and practiced through college will become the habits that are carried for the rest of a person’s life. Failing to claim responsibility in academics could carry over to somebody’s career, relationships, and every other aspect of their life. The Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), focuses on learning outcomes that are essential for all college students in the 21st century. Among them is personal and social responsibility. Core Commitments is a related ACC&U initiative, and it focuses specifically on personal and social responsibility (Colby & Sullivan, 2009). According to Colby and Sullivan (2009), “the Core Commitments initiative has outlined five key goals within the broader category of personal and social responsibility. The five key dimensions of personal and social responsibility are: 1) striving