Big Spring High School
Newville, Pennsylvania
Teacher: Mrs. D. Whitmoyer

 

 

 

 

Community Provisions

By Nikki Raudabaugh

Grade 12

 

 

 

What is the role of personal responsibility in improving the quality of life in our communities?  That is a tough question to answer.  I think it all comes down to what we want to get out of our lives in addition to what we want to get out of our communities.In order to acheive a collective goal, a community has to be willing to work together.  One person can’t take tthe entire responsibility of improving the whole community on themselves.  Everyone has to be willing to work towards the same thing.  If everyone in the community could just get along and  work together, they could most definately improve the quality of their community living.

         

It seems to me in most communities today, people seperate themselves.  You may not realize it, you may even do it yourself, but people seperate themselves in their communities according to their race, their income or their education.  You cansee this in just about every community or neiborhood in the United States.  When you drive through a small town, just by looking at the houses you can tell how the community is seperated.  Maybe the nice, expensive houses are at the end of the street and the less expensive houses are at the other end of the street.  In communities, people need to look past their differences and try to work together to make things better.  If everyone could do that, things could get done quicker and easier than if just one person tried to accomplish it on their own.

         

Something else I think would fall under the category of personal responsibilty would be to look at things from other people’s points of view.  Yes you may think that you are always right, but maybe you don’t see things the same way someone else does.  If you are open to some constructive critism or at least someone else’s point of view, maybe together you two can make something good even better.  I know sometimes it is hard to change your views, but sometimes things need to change.  When it comes to choosing a new mayor for your community, you all need to be open to other opinions, and that can only help your community.

         

Also, you must be willing to accept the changes when they accur.  Even if you think things are going absolutely wonderful in your community, it may need some changes.  So when it comes time to elect new officials to run your community, accept the changes even if they weren’t what you had hoped for.  Nine times out of ten, if everyone else in your community thinks someone will help make it  a better place to live, they probably will.  With that though, don’t be afraid to speak up if you think that someone is doing something wrong.  If you think that there is wrong doing going on, you should take it upon yourself to speak up and help make it right.

         

Now , if we are speaking of cleaning up our communities to make them better, that is a whole other story.  People in our communities need to stand up and not be afraid to speak their minds.  If you see some kid selling drugs, call the police.  If you see a big kid beating up a little kid, help the little one out.  Don’t just sit around and watch the bad things happen.  If you want to get things done, you need to go and do them yourself.  If you are just sitting around waiting for someone else to start doing something you could be doing, you could be waiting for a long time.  Be a leader if you must be; most of the time, that is the only way to get things done. No matter what, I think that the most important role is to be respctful and responsible.  Everyone wants to be treated with respect and if you treat your neighbors with respect, they will most likely treat you with that same respect.  You must be respectful of others before others will be respectful of you.  Also, being responsible for your own actions is very important.  Be responsible for the decisios you make and how you handle yourself, then everything should work out alright.  Respect for everyone else and responsibilty for yourself is the key to having a good quality of life in our communities.

          This is how I feel about our personal responsibilty in our communities.  There are so many ways that we can do something to make our community better.  I don’t know how much sense this essay made to anyone else, but I think that if everyone works together our communities can be better.

 

 

 

Answers to Questions

 

Question #1. 

 

Question #2.     Ten married couples responses:

                                    1. Married 20 years.  “Always be honest, to yourself and your spouse.”

                                    2. Married 10 years.  “Don’t ever forget to put the toilet seat down.”

                                    3. Married 4 years.  “ Always have faith in your husband.”

                                    4. Married 12 years.  “ Don’t ever try to hide something from your wife, they always know.”

                                    5. Married 1 year. “ Don’t ever stop having fun.”

                                    6. Married 45 years.  “ Just nod and act like you know what she is talking about.”

                                    7. Married 6 months.  “ Tell them you love them, even if you’re mad at eachother.”

                                    8. Married 19 years.  “ Never fight over money, it’ not worth it.”

                                    9. Married 6 years.  “ Let her decide where to eat whenyou go out.”

                                    10. Married 20 years.  “ Always compromise and listen.”

 

Question #3.     I think that Richard Eckersley thinks our collective goal should be to figure out what it is we really want from life before we say whether life is good or not.         

 

Question #4.     I think that a worthy goal for my community would have to be for everyone to be proud of it.  People don’t seem to be proud of ouo look at things from other people’s points of view.  Yes you may think that you are always right, but maybe you don’t see things the same way someone else does.  If you are open to some constructive critism or at least someone else’s point of view, maybe together you two can make something good even better.  I know sometimes it is hard to change your views, but sometimes things need to change.  When it comes to choosing a new mayor for your community, you all need to be open to other opinions, and that can only help your community.

            Also, you must be willing to accept the changes when they accur.  Even if you think things are going absolutely wonderful in your community, it may need some changes.  So when it comes time to elect new officials to run your community, accept the changes even if they weren’t what you had hoped for.  Nine times o

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