...What Three Things Motivated Me to Start College? What motivations would have me stepping out of my comfortable safe zone to contemplate textbooks, essays, grades, dreaded exams, and taking on the finical burden of student loans? I always had a vague idea someday, after the kids were grown and I had more free time, I would go back and get the college education I passed up in my youth. Life experiences and the oft times unexpected upheaval it brings, has dramatically brought a different agenda to my motivations and goals. Narrowing down to the strongest point that motivated me to start college is a fairly easy task, it all boils down to the main focus of my life: my family, raising our circumstances and all of our future aspirations. The foremost motivation is by far the largest was the dedication to raising my family. My husband became disabled roughly seven years ago; at that time I was unable to keep our small construction company running. The construction company, our main source of income, was gone and quality of life became vastly different. The struggle to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table for our children was the spur I needed to make the decision to return to college. This became my main motivation. Starting college and seeking out a degree that would provide me the ability to find employment with the ultimate goal of being able to provide a better life for my family. The prospect of a brighter future was appealing. The second motivation is, which...
Words: 804 - Pages: 4
...must be accepted, it cannot be forced on anyone. You must realize that by accepting personal responsibility you are in control of the direction you’re your life takes, whether good or bad. “One step in accepting personal responsibility is tearing down the mask of defense or rationale for why others are responsible for who you are, what has happened to you and what you are bound to become” (Accepting Personal Responsibility). Personal responsibility has had a major effect on my life. As a child, I was raised to believe that nothing in life was free and that humility and self-responsibility were my biggest allies. Growing up, personal responsibility played the biggest role in my education. In middle school I struggled with math and I had to take it upon myself to get a tutor so that I could excel in that course. Had I not taken on the personal responsibility for myself to want to get better I would have failed my course. As well, personal responsibility played a role in my athletic career while in high school. I was the captain of the volleyball team and I had to utilize my self-responsibility so that I may be a good example for my teammates. If my teammates witness me not being responsible for myself then I could not expect them to be...
Words: 1092 - Pages: 5
...My initial motivations to start college was my family, a career, bettering myself, and free college thanks to the Army. With the Post 9/11 G.I. Bill, I am able to actually afford to go to college so this is a major motivator it is also an opportunity for me that I could not pass up. When I joined the Army I never really put much thought into wanting to go to college I thought I was going to make a career out of the military. When I got out of the Army I needed to come up with a new career plan for me that is when I realised that I needed to go back to school to do that. When I decided to go to college I had to think of what my end goal was and what classes I needed to take to get there. One of my end goals is to better myself, which is also a motivator for me. I wanted a skill set that I can apply to just about any career that I could think of which is why I wanted to have some kind of business degree. With having a degree that can apply to such a wide range of jobs and careers it will make it easier to help provide for my family....
Words: 645 - Pages: 3
...organizational skills, motivation and dedication. Personal Responsibility is an essential characteristic that can make any individual successful in life. We are forced to deal with responsibility on a daily basis. But how we decide to respond to it is a key trait in helping us balance it, no matter what the tribulation is (whether at home, work or school). By accepting responsibility, I will not be coerced into making decision by outside influences. Thus, every decision I make is made with integrity. Every day we are faced with obstacles. Many jobs and educational institutions seek those individuals who have high responsibility characteristics. How does a high sense of personal responsibility influence us? Individuals who lack this trait and cannot adapt accordingly have a higher possibility of being terminated from a job or fail in their education. An example, a student must being held responsible for ensuring that all assignments, whether individually or grouped, are turned in on time in order to receive credit. Without this sense of personal responsibility, a student can possibly be placed on academic probation, dismissed from school, or be forced to pay back their tuition. These decisions are solely based on our core values. My core values are Honor, Courage and Commitment! These values were instilled in me during my childhood (Army family). These same values followed me while I served this Great Country (US Navy) as a leader, role model and a husband. This is my foundation and...
Words: 1148 - Pages: 5
...Introduction: Introductory Paragraph: College education is essentially is the key to succes in the future.It opens many doors of opportunity and allows me to explore every option available.It is common for students in high school to wonder if college education is really important.College education is important because you need a degree to get a good job or a stable career.I,d like to talk about some of the benefits that furthering my education can provide,and as well as the joy it can bring to each and every one of us.That,s exactly what motived me to get a degree. Body: Body-First paragraph: One of the biggest challenges in meeting any goal,whether it be related to productivity,waking early,changing a habit,exercising,or just becoming happier,is finding the motivation to stick to it.If i can stick with a goal long enough,i,will almost always get there eventually.it just takes patience,and motivation Motivation is the key,but it,s not always easy,day in and day out,to find that motivation.What follow is a guide to motivation using what i have learned over the last few years in a series of succesful accomplishments,goals and habit changes.I have had many failures,but also many successes,and i have learned a lot from all of them.motivation has been a particularly important topic of exploration to me. Body: Body-second paragraph: College education is important to me because that,s the only way i will reach my goals.I always wanted to be an immigration officer...
Words: 756 - Pages: 4
...Motivation is certainly a topic that demonstrates the complexities of human nature. The simple question of, “What motivates you?” is quite loaded in terms of the highly individualized responses one would receive. As Psychology suggests by the numerous theories of motivation, each individual is clearly motivated by many different factors. It is through our motivation that defines us as individuals and propels us towards certain behaviors that satisfy various needs. “Psychologists use the term motivation to refer to the internal processes that activate, guide, and maintain behavior (often, over long periods of time)” (Baron, Kalsher, 2008, p. 298). Through firsthand experience, it is quite clear that motivations also change throughout the course of our lives. For example, the motivation for attending school and succeeding is now quite different for me then when I first attended college at 18. I did quite well in high school, graduating with honors in the top 5% of my class. However, as I entered college I was completely uncertain of what I wanted to do with my life. A combination of the expectancy theory and the goal-setting theory would explain why I did not complete college and dropped out after two years. It becomes quite clear that I did not link any expectations of desired outcomes from school because I did not set clear goals for my life. I simply attended college because that’s what one typically does after high school which was certainly not enough of a motivator...
Words: 492 - Pages: 2
...Thesis Statement and Informal Outline Worksheet In this course, you will write a 1,050- to 1,750-word Personal Responsibility Essay, due in Week Five, which includes the following: Define what personal responsibility means to you. Explain the relationship between personal responsibility and college success. Include a preliminary plan to practice personal responsibility in your education. This week, using the Center for Writing Excellence resources, provide the thesis statement and informal outline for your Personal Responsibility Essay assignment, due in Week Five. Notes: Define Personal Responsibility: It takes self discipline and the willingness to accept full responsibility for everything you do. Having willpower and discipline to get done the tasks at hand, regardless of the struggle. It starts with personal responsibility in order to be successful. Relationship between Personal Responsibility and College Success: It takes a great work ethic and motivation to achieve college success. With the lack of personal responsibility college success is not possible. It takes willpower and willingness to be successful in school work. My plan to use Personal Responsibility to be successful in my education: I will show motivation in everything I do, and keep my work ethic to the highest standard. Beginning assignments as soon as they are given, never letting myself procastinate, and taking pride in the work that I provide are three example of how I plan to...
Words: 529 - Pages: 3
...serves as motivation to fulfill a different need. ERG stands for existence, relatedness and growth, and these are defined as: * Existence - the need for basic material existence, like physiological health and safety * Relatedness - the need for interpersonal connections, social status and recognition * Growth - the need for personal development, including creative and meaningful work 2- Recognized the importance and the rights and value of others Encourage others with all sorts of encouragement Ask them opinion and advice Do not skimp on the other with praise and flattery and tender Give them freedom to perform tasks Participated in solving their problems Listen to others and as their opinions and ideas, and the fact that their perception and share with them love and respect, and highlighted the importance of the project to be in the them conviction tasks and ideas The fact that in them the spirit of perseverance, challenge and between the outstanding share them financially and morally 3- . I wanted to do something with my life and I know that college will get me a better, more well paid job. Along with that, it will help me reach my dream to become have my job . Also I want to prove to myself that I can accomplish what I started and what I dream to be. I've always wanted to go to college and broaden my education. I've also always been told that college is the only way to get a better paying job, and that is basically true, especially for what I want to...
Words: 448 - Pages: 2
...Abstract My Personal Responsibility Essay is a brief look into my background, major changes in the educational landscape, my reasons for attending college, my motivation, and the obstacles that would hinder me from completing my goal. . Table of Contents Table of Contents ....................…………...................................................................................... 2 Personal Responsibility Essay……...................……..…............................................................... 3 References….................................................................................................................................. 6 . Personal Responsibility Essay My arrival at the University of Phoenix came a few years after my retirement plans ran into a pothole. When I say pothole, I should really say canyon. Though, all things considered, my retirement goals were nothing to write home about. I was a migrant nuclear worker, which means I worked infrequently with no substantial retirement benefits. This 30 year continuum had me exhausting my savings during the dry times, thus my earnings never amounted to much towards retirement. I lived an unbalanced middle class existence. My plan for retirement was to simply survive until I was able to collect social security, sell my home, move to a country where I could live comfortably off the SSI, die, and go onto heaven for a real retirement. So what was the pothole that in my perspective...
Words: 1122 - Pages: 5
...Academic Motivation of College Athletes & the Influence of Athletic Scholarships Abstract The purpose of this research was to examine whether scholarship play a role in academic success by identifying the motivation of the students toward their classes and the influences of being an athlete. The identification was investigated using surveys and interviews. Most college athletes made it clear that their motivation academically comes from their concern about a successful future. A successful future in this place is having a good job, earn good money and have a successful business. As if they were to fail in sports, they would still be able to make a good life with their records in academic fields. So their first priority is a good academic status. The results also identified how being an athlete could hurt them academically. Introduction I decided to do this research because I’m interested in getting a scholarship to play basketball and I would like to know how things work and could possibly affect my academic performances at that point. Scholarship athletes are expected to work hard and dedicate more time than the walk-in or try-out players because they need to maintain their good performance to keep their scholarships. I’m studying in Thailand as a 10th grader. I started playing basketball a couple years ago. At first I was just playing for fun and exercise, but since I was asked to join my varsity team, I started to like the game more. My love to game developed...
Words: 2500 - Pages: 10
...College is pretty tough and may very well seem impossible at times. It is a lot to take in and not everybody has the correct work ethic and strategies to handle the hard work necessary to handle all of the work and achieve a degree. Having a strategy is essential to a student’s overall success in college. Without having the right strategies in place, the workload a student receives in college will be overwhelming. There are many different strategies a student can use to overcome the stresses of college. Two of the most important strategies are self-management and self-motivation. Self-management is an absolute must for students. Without it, they will never get all of their necessary work done. Time becomes very valuable and students can’t afford to waste a second of it. This could be the greatest asset of all as it will be the most beneficial to students in school and even furthermore in their career. In “Self-Assessment.”, Skip Downing gives a survey in which he tests out 8 different traits, including self-management, in students and grades them accordingly. Downing defines good self-management as “consistently planning and taking purposeful actions in pursuit of their goals and dreams.” As a college student I try my best to improve my self-managing every day. I have made it a habit to plan out my time as much as possible. Although it may seem impossible at times to find motivation to continue, finding the motivation is vital to the success of a student. Self-motivation is...
Words: 534 - Pages: 3
...Factors in Student Motivation Authored by: Steven C. Howey Educators across the country are frustrated with the challenge of how to motivate the ever increasing number of freshmen students entering college who are psychologically, socially, and academically unprepared for the demands of college life. Such students often exhibit maladaptive behavior such as tardiness, hostility towards authority, and unrealistic aspirations. The standard approach is to address the problem as an academic issue through remedial or developmental instruction. Developmental education programs however do not address the whole problem. Lack of motivation is not limited to the academically weak student. Successful remedial and study strategies courses aimed at the underprepared student have demonstrated that students who really want to improve their skills can do so when motivated. However, even the best remedial instruction programs have failed to positively impact the student who is both underprepared academically and unmotivated. When students have both a lack of academic skills and lack motivation, the greater problem is motivation (Kelly, 1988). Faculty often have neither the time or inclination to address difficult motivational issues in the classroom, consequently, the task of trying to effectively motivate such students often falls to academic advisors. Opinions about the role of motivation in academic achievement and what can be done about it vary widely among college faculty, administrators...
Words: 3013 - Pages: 13
...What are you going to do after high school? That is always the basic question that every high school senior is asked. But, the sad thing is, most of them have no idea. Many think that if students were to start preparing for their future after high school while they are still in grade school, or middle school, then they will be more ready. On the other hand, others think that if you start preparing too early for college, then you may result in a burnout, and then not even want to go to college. I believe that starting while you're in middle school, would be the best option for three main reasons. I believe that it will help students stay on track with their grades, I believe that it will give students the motivation for after high school, and I believe that the students will be less stressed when it does come to their senior year. To begin, I believe that if students start preparing for college earlier than high school than it will help them get better grades overall. I speak from experience, because if I would have started preparing and knowing what I needed to have in order to get into the colleges I wanted, I wouldn't have messed around with...
Words: 803 - Pages: 4
...Univ-103 April 4, 14 Joan Johnson Topic 1 Journal Entry: Motivation Growing up, I was always certain that I would obtain my bachelors degree in a healthcare related field. Prior to Grand Canyon, I attended ASU, Phoenix College, and Glendale Community College. I left each school with various credits but uncertain of what I ultimately wanted to pursue. While working, I met a lot of people who attend GCU and spoke nothing but great things about the university; this led my interest into the university. Earlier in the year, there was a spokes person that visited my work location and informed us about the programs and degrees GCU offers. The ultimate motivation to attend GCU was myself because I knew I would gain more knowledge, gain greater potential, and expand my career opportunities. Motivation is important because it is the result of what one values and what is important to them; it aids a person to take action towards what they wish to accomplish. Motivation correlates with setting goals that result in a student’s success. Participation in discussions is important because students learn from one another and give each other feedback similar to in class discussions. Participation will certainly be a motivator for me because as I communicate with my classmates I learn, and look forward to, the different techniques, thoughts, and the opinions they have. In this first week I have learned a lot about my classmates and have been inspired by their stories. Everyone has different...
Words: 283 - Pages: 2
...was the grades I got my freshman year of college. I started my college career struggling a little bit and often wondered how I could raise my grades and improve my GPA until I was satisfied with the grades I would get. Coming to college I was finally on my own with no one to wake me up, make me do homework, or go to class. These all led to my GPA not being exactly where I wanted it to be along with a number of psychological factors that have all been introduced throughout lecture and the readings. The four different chapters I can relate this problem most too would have to be those on stress, personality, motivation and social psychology. Stress is one of the main leaders for college students and low GPA’s and I believe it had a lot to do with my original GPA from my freshman year. Living here on campus is extremely overwhelming at first for a freshman here at UMass Amherst. There are so many events that you can attend, RSOs that you can join, and other things in town and campus. It is also the first time moving away from home and that can lead to stress because no one is around to remind you about things that you may forget to do. The classes here at UMass were also extremely different from any classes I took at my high school. I was used to smaller classes of about 20-25 students that were all mostly my friends, now I was being thrown into a 400 person lecture with a bunch of strangers and just a professor throwing words at us. The amount of work in college is also way more than...
Words: 1726 - Pages: 7
