Personal Responsibility
Although there are many things needed to succeed in college, personal responsibility is one of the most important ones.
Personal responsibility means to be held accountable for a person’s own actions. The outcome of an individual’s decisions, whether good or bad, is solely his or her responsibility. Once a person accepts this, the accomplishment of goals previously set becomes easier to achieve. The Sequence of Personal Responsibility tells how when it comes to personal responsibility, not only do we have to willingly accept how important the standards established by society are, we also need to ensure we try our hardest to live by those standards. Additionally, when we fail to meet these standards, we can’t blame everyone or everything else for our failure (Haskins, 2009). Success in college will depend on, among other things, the person’s acceptance of personal responsibility. Students are given the proper tools to succeed. The end result will be in the individual’s hands. This is where a strong sense of personal responsibility will come in to play.
There are many factors that will lead a person to succeed in college. Finding out what motivates the person is one. It can be the fact that the person wants a better job, or maybe the person likes their job but wants a promotion along with better pay. Another reason can be that one is seeking self improvement by obtaining a college degree, seeking a higher degree, or finishing a previously started degree. Whatever it may be, you need to be honest with yourself when evaluating your reasons for going to school. Make sure that you are doing it for the right reasons and ask yourself if it is the right time.

Setting goals is another factor that will lead you to success, but only if you follow through with them. You need to be clear and honest about your goal setting. Goals need to be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely. I have to agree with Haskins on his article’s conclusion; At the crescendo of his astonishing inaugural address, President Obama called the nation’s attention to “a new era of responsibility.” What did he mean? At minimum, he meant that young Americans should be guided by a clear and straightforward set of goals: finish your education, get a job, get married, and only then have children — and get the sequence right. After that, everything is possible. (Haskins, 2009). His article not only addresses the issues stemming from lack of personal responsibility in our modern society. He is also giving us a formula on the proper sequence needed to achieve success by allowing ourselves to be guided by a clear and straightforward set of goals.
Proper time management is another factor that will lead to success. There needs to be a plan put in place that will address any and all the details if possible. Daily tasks and routines need to be organized as you are taking on a life altering responsibility. Having a clear and concise plan on the day’s events will give you a better and possibly less stressful way to deal with your day to day and college duties. As noted by Rivera (2011), Planning is the essential first step Latino students must learn in order to develop effective time management skills. Using a calendar planner as early as sixth grade might seem unnecessary or extreme to some, but it provides the student a concrete way of envisioning how to match what is required with the time resource in which to do it. Teaching Hispanic students how to use an academic planner can help them stay organized and timely in their work, too. Transferring information such as assignment or project due dates from a syllabus to a schedule planner helps the student make the initial connection between an academic requirement and the responsibility and power in completing it. It is the first step in developing personal accountability in the use of time. An example of my preliminary plan can be as simple as utilizing one hour per day to read over school material. Dedicating an hour or two to working on school assignments. Having team meetings once a week to go over the team strategy or team related work. Finishing schoolwork one to two days before the deadline, just in case there are any last minute changes or problems that may, and usually will arise. Another way to plan or make sure things are done is by creating a daily checklist. Place it where it can be easily seen; the fridge, a small bill-board, your bedroom mirror etc. Cross your tasks off as you complete them. Also, use your calendar. Write notes on it, appointments, deadlines, team meets, etc. The point is to be proactive, and to not procrastinate. Have contingency plans. Be clear on what you want to accomplish, be honest with yourself about your goals, add structure and order in accomplishing them, and finish what you started.
Personal responsibility and success in college go hand in hand. Not only in college, but, in anything we do in life. Without the right plan, and among other things, the right attitude, the courage to start and the commitment to finish, success in anything you do in life will be hard to achieve. I have witnessed and lived through this first hand. Or, you can say I have both, succeeded and failed due to either practicing or choosing to ignore personal responsibility.

References
Haskins, R. (2009). The Sequence of Personal Responsibility. Brookings Institution article. Retrieved from Brookings Institution website, www.brookings.edu
Rivera, M. (2011, Mar 21). TEACHING LATINO STUDENTS TIME MANAGEMENT SKILLS. The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education, 21, 48. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/858388340?accountid=458