Gasparyan 1

Zoro Gasparyan
Professor Vana DerOhanessian
English 114B
8 May 2014
Projection on Personal Responsibility
Every living soul in this world is responsible for at least one role. More precisely, college
students belong to one social group that withholds the greatest amount of responsibilities. In
Sociology, the functionalist perspective states that certain duties need to be performed by
individual in the society in order for it to function. Therefore, to be successful in college,
students initially need to be prepared to be independent individuals, so they can learn how to
properly manage their actions and thoughts. They have certain short-term and long-term goals to
complete every day in class, home, or at work. College students share the same responsibilities,
as well as the need to demonstrate and maintain certain roles in the family. I believe that most
undergraduate scholars are capable of managing their responsibilities towards academics, family,
and social life. Students not only have responsibility towards academics, but also in their
personal life as they mature.
Personal responsibility plays a significant role in shaping the society we live in today. It
defines the success of the student in college for several reasons. Since first grade, students have
been taught and educated to be self-governing and be held accountable for their actions. Most
students encounter stressful moments in their lives as years progress and they get older. When
these adolescents undergo the transformation into adulthood, they suddenly are bombarded with
many responsibilities. It is a major problem in our society because these students do not expect
the workload in college to be extremely difficult. College students develop stress because of
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dual-task interference. These students are obligated to balance their college life and social life
while maintaining financial stability. However, it is difficult to be exposed to two tasks at once,
because one or the other may be the cause of one to degenerate. This eventually reduces
productivity in the student, causing his or her grade-point-average to decrease.
The American Student Assistance Association has provided statistics that have shown
undergraduate students are experienced tremendous amounts of stress. College students strive to
manage their time spent on leisure, homework, studying, and work. There is extreme pressure
placed on these students, and it institutes them to have a lack of motivation, sleep, and
concentration. Since college tuition continues to rise, students are buried in debt after graduation.
They borrow from the student loan, expecting to get a high-paying job after graduation.
However, due to the economy going downhill, it is difficult for students to find a job. Of the
$870B-$1T in outstanding student loan debt, approximately $85 billion is past due (Student
Loan Debt Statistics). According to The Associated Press, four in 10 students say they endure
stress often. Nearly one of five say they feel it all or most of the time (Associated Press).
Although college students should be fully responsible for themselves, extraneous factors affect
the motivation and perception of future generations about attending college.
As students progress from high school to higher education by voluntary desire, they
enter a different world which is entirely composed of a strict curriculum. Since being responsible
is learned behavior, college students are expected to attend every class meeting, complete every
assignment given on time, and study a minimum of three to five hours for every class after each
class meeting. Every college student is expected to complete at least these three tasks, and take
additional steps to further enhance his or her college performance. In the article, The Sequence
of Personal Responsibility by Ron Haskins, it is implied that young students need to consider
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practicing personal decision-making. He argues that when individuals fail to meet standards set
by society for individual behavior, they automatically blame their family, peers, economic
circumstances, or society. According to Mr. Haskin, personal responsibility means that students
accept the responsibility to study hard and to learn as much as they can in courses that press
against the limits of their capacity (Haskins). By attending college, students imply that they are
willing to accept the rigorous academic work.
Academia in U.S. institutions continues to get more competitive, causing anxiety and
stress for college students. However, by enrolling into college, the scholars made themselves a
commitment to use their own effort to be successful, make decisions in life, and possibly face
consequences without initiating any complaints. To take responsibility as a college student
emphasizes pure honesty and self-discipline. A student is considered irresponsible if he or she
blames other for the mistakes that he or she committed. If the student doesnt have personal
responsibility, he or she might blame his or her teacher or parents for a mishap on the final due to
the lack of studying.
Most college students share the same responsibilities, whether they commute or live on
the campus. The students who commute spend a considerable amount of time with their family.
In contrast, the students who live separately from their parents are considered independent
individuals, and they are responsible to take care of themselves. There is a correlation between
personal responsibility of the student and his or her success in college. The family social
structure plays a significant role in regards to maintaining the students health. A students
family is a vital component to help mediate any stress their child might have. Parents need to
provide care, love and emotional support to the student because it is unconsciously essential for
their child. They also need to help with responsibilities outside of school. In recent psychological
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research it was proven that adolescents who reported warm parenting by both mother and father
were less likely to suffer symptoms of depression in reaction to stressful events than were
adolescents who reported harsher discipline by both parents (Wolfradta Uwe, Suzanne Hempel,
and Jeremy N.V Miles). Therefore, it is critical for students to have great communication and a
strong relationship with their family members. Families have an extreme impact on the student,
and they are the most powerful force in a students life.
A third factor, social life, sometimes needs to be sacrificed when the semester begins.
Many students complain that they are spending too much time on school work and do not leave
time for themselves. Unfortunately, this is true for the majority of college students. Although
school is a priority, it is necessary for students to also take care of their health. It might be a
struggle to balance the time between academic life and social life due to the dual-task
interference. However, it is possible for students to maintain their grades while they also meet
personal needs. According to Shelley Frost of Demand Media, students can fulfill their academic
obligations and still have time for social activities by finding a division of time in your schedule
that leaves you feeling satisfied and successful (Frost). It is mandatory not to procrastinate and
be organized by keeping a planner to track all the school-related priorities and not school-related
priorities.
Responsibility is the first step towards a successful and balanced life. In order for
students to learn how to be responsible, it is necessary to practice at young age. Not only will
students learn this at home, but teachers also can have a big role. By implementing responsibility
in their students lives through their ways of teaching, students will learn the idea of how to be
self-governing. Personal responsibility does not always lead to success in academics, but
achieving responsibility will guarantee success in life outside of school. It cannot be achieved
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unless students learn how to cope with certain situations throughout their lives and practice
during college as they enter the real world without much of their parents guidance. Students can
learn how to deal with success and failure through self-responsibility because they will learn how
to fix and alter what they started on their own. Therefore, college is the ideal environment in
which students can learn how to take responsibility over their personal life and balance
academics, family and their social life on their own.

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Works Cited
Associated Press. 1 in 5 Undergrads Is Constantly Stressed. NBC News. Associated Press, 18
Mar. 2008. Web. 18 Feb. 2014.
Frost, Shelley. How to Balance Life and Work as a College Student. Global Post. Demand
Media, n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2014.
Haskins, Ron. The Sequence of Personal Responsibility. The Brookings Institution. N.p., July
2009. Web. 18 Feb. 2014.
Student Loan Debt Statistics. American Student Assistance. American Student Assistance, n.d.
Web. 18 Feb. 2014.
Wolfradta Uwe, Suzanne Hempel, and Jeremy N.V Miles. Perceived Parenting Styles,
Depersonalisation, Anxiety and Coping Behaviour In Adolescents. ScienceDirect.
CSUN, 11 Apr. 2002. Web. 18 Feb. 2014.