Relationship of Personal Responsibility and College Success

Personal responsibility is having respect for yourself and for others in terms of managing your actions and reactions, emotions, and the consequences that may arise as a result of your actions/reactions or emotions. Personal responsibility is believing that as individuals we have to understand and accept the role our actions or reactions impact others around us. Personal responsibility is being accountable and not relying on others to define or validate who we are or what we stand for or contribute to society in general. Even though circumstances in life can hinder academic success, courage, confidence, and independence can be gained by taking personal responsibility for thoughts, choices, and actions. Taking ownership of your goals and ambitions leads to achieving academic and career success. For example, the connections between personal responsibility and academic success results in a higher GPA and your motivation to complete assignments on time. How responsible you are is apparent in your academic success when you proactively take the lead or finish a task ahead of the proposed time frame instead of procrastinating or sitting back and letting others lead. While some may say that a person's surroundings along with family and/or friends playing a role in the success of that persons academic career is a valid point, however, the person has a personal responsibility to his or her own success. Outsider or influences may have an effect, that's true, however, it is still the responsibility of the individual person to achieve their own goals set forth in college. Opportunities and challenges alike may arise in life but it's up to the individual how to deal with or respond to those issues and ultimately succumb to or persevere through. Having a sense of personal responsibility in one's life is taking control of your life's decisions. For example, time management when preparing for an exam. The irresponsible person would not study in preparation. Whereas the responsible person would not rely on sheer luck of the draw in passing the exam, yet they would take time to prepare and review for the exam to ensure passing the exam. In life, things happen! There are highs and lows. However, it is personal responsibility that determines how the person deals with what life produces. People have choices of either being a "producer" or a "sufferer" in life. A producer will accept things as