Responsibility by Colin

Responsibility by Colin - September 2014 Scholarship Essay

I am now in my third year of college. My experience has made known to me many skills that are a must for success in college. Skills such as, budgeting, driving, memorization, good note taking, and honesty. But for me the most important in these three years has been responsibility.

Responsibility is a skill everyone can achieve, if they commit themselves to it. Responsibility can be represented in various ways. I find that responsibility encompasses everything I do in life, not just the college experience. Let me illustrate responsibility in action both on, and off campus.

Before you even start college, you will find that there's an art to picking the right college for you. Some people would prefer to go far away from home to help with the transition out on their own. I chose to stay local. This requires me to remain focused on my goals while being responsible at the same time. The hardest aspect of responsibility for me is being responsible while living in my family's home. Whether it be helping pay for the food, or helping out around the house. After all, I am saving quite a bit by not living on campus. I also have to be responsible with my finances. I can do this by not overspending, striving to find good deals, and buying my textbooks used if at all possible. Applying for as many scholarships is also a must. Sometimes it can be hard to find the time to do it. But by virtue of the characteristics of a scholarship it requires responsibility to be achieved.

Responsibility can also play a role in my actions. The common act of driving to school takes tremendous amounts of responsibility to ensure no one gets hurt. Eating healthy is another under rated act of responsibility. Everyone wants to exceed in class, to do that you do not want to affect your brain's awareness and problem solving skills, through the abuse of drugs or alcohol. This can take a great amount of responsibility to achieve, but it is well worth it.

I am not trying to take anything away from the importance of budgeting, driving safely, or good note taking. I am simply showing how all of these require an extra aspect. For me good note taking is not going to be the difference in whether I succeed or not. Neither is driving safely going to be the sole deciding factor in my success at college. But by being responsible with the little things, it will give me a better chance to be able to be successful as a college student.