Paoli High School
Paoli, Oklahoma

Teacher: Melinda Alfred

The Role Of Personal Responsibility In Improving
The Quality Of Life In Our Communities Today

by Jamie White

12th Grade

 

Everyone holds personal responsibility in his or her life.  Teenagers hold responsibility in their homes and at their schools.  Adults must maintain it in their jobs.  Teenagers have daily chores to fulfill and adults must arrive for work on time daily and complete their duties. Each one of us has an obligation to someone or something. As a society, we each have responsibilities in order to make the world run. How can we use this responsibility in our society to improve our quality of life?  Our President, government officials, and news reporters have brought up many questions concerning the direction our world is heading. We, as a community, can use our personal responsibility to take charge and help our society to concentrate on the social problems of today and make an impact for the future.

           

Divorce is a word that is common to a large percentage of families. Families are torn apart and the innocent victims, the children, are left with incredible grief and pain.  How can we help these distraught families before it is too late?  I am a child of divorced parents and I know firsthand how it feels to witness your parents split up.  My heart was

broken. I was confused about my life and how it was about to take an unusual turn.  I soon began to realize the reason why my parents made the decision was because of the lack of trust, communication and love between them both. We can solve this problem and put a halt on divorces.

           

Before a couple should wed, it should be absolutely mandatory for the couple to undergo pre-marital counseling classes. This will show them how to treat each other with respect and love. It will also teach them how to raise a family and how to get through the worst of problems in their future.  Having this knowledge will hopefully help the couple through their marriage. Also, I believe before the couple can even file a petition for

divorce, they should have to go through marriage counseling to make sure they can't straighten out their differences. Talking about it with a professional could actually help the couple and stop the divorce. Many people divorce before even trying to work out their problems. I want to have a solid marriage and not fall into the divorce rate of today. I want to make sure my husband has the same goals as me, a caring family, and a good head on his shoulders. That is how I would ensure my marriage to last forever.

           

I want to express my ideas to our government. I want them to hear my ideas and understand how this issue is so important. Putting my ideas into action, will benefit our society greatly.  My personal responsibility as a citizen is to give my thoughts and concerns on how to better our society. I will present these ideas, and hopefully, help turn our communities around. Then, the families can concentrate more on the important things in life - their children, their future, and each other.

           

Another issue I am concerned about is our generation of students.  It seems as time passes, more people are attending college. The question is: Are we making good career choices?  How can we be more prepared for the work place and make solid career choices? I want to get experience from a job in order to better understand that field.  I would also like to intern in my choice of career to contemplate whether or not that field is best for me. Many people have jobs they do not enjoy and cannot afford to go back

to college and seek another field. Using my ideas though, people might not need to try and go back to college, because they would already have made a good career choice.  It is up to me and other students to bring forth these ideas and make them happen.  I would do so by talking with colleges about my views.  I want them to hear it from me, because I am going to be a college freshman this fall.  Why not stop people from making bad career

choices before it happens?  I want to make a difference in my generation and make us the leaders of tomorrow.

 

Many people would love to go to college and achieve their goals in life. Numerous people know what they want to pursue, but cannot afford the high cost of college.  I am one of those many people who are worried about how my family is going to afford my education. If our society could help these students by making more scholarships available, there would be hope for us who have none. Writing letters to businesses to inform them of my ideas would be using my personal responsibility as student. I hope they would take my letters seriously and make an effort to help. More businesses

should donate money for scholarships so the future leaders of their communities would be given a chance to achieve. We should help all students have a future and not worry if they can afford it.  We can improve the quality of life for these students effectively with these ideas. Putting our ideas down on paper, will hopefully help us, the students, better

ourselves for our careers and futures.

           

More problems exist out there than I know.  It takes each one of us to pitch in to help our communities. I want to put my views into action. These ideas that I have presented are very important to me. I want to help in any way possible to lower our divorce and help the students. I want to contribute myself to the needs of our communities. That is how I would use to my personal responsibility in approving the quality of life in our communities.

 

Answers to Required Reading

 

1.  In Manus, the society concentrates more on the economic exchange rather than traditional weddings.  Manus people invest in their weddings. I believe that in the United States, society invests by having marriage counselors. The divorce rate is extremely high and our society needs these counselors to aid couples in their problems.

 

2. 

a. Jeff and Kelley Jarman - 7 years - Don't get married to early.

b. Pete and Katrina Hannah - 16 years - Try to solve your problems when they happen…

c. Thomas and Mary James - 40 years - You have to work together.

d. Janis and Jim Jarman - 43 years - Express your feeling to each other.

e. Joe and Wanda McDaniel- 50 years - Learn to love what you hate about each other.

f. Ron and Marlene Lovett - 47 years - Talk and work our your problems.

g. Jill and Jeff Cliburn - 14 years - Go out every once in a while alone, time together

h. Ralph and Cleta Cochran - 63 years - Look to God for love and happiness.

i. Charlie and Bobby Jarman - 68 years - Tell each other what you're thinking.

j. John and Frieta Pratt - 48 years- Just love each other

 

3. I believe our collective goal should be to figure out what is best for us.  Is it best for us to have the best technology and the most money? We should measure our well-being and worry more about our health. That should be our main goal.

 

4. I think a worth goal for my community is to make a clean-up effort. If we could organize clean up days where we would pick up trash along the sides of the roads, our town would look so much neater.  Our town should also pass a law where people have to keep their grass mowed and lawns neat

 

5.  I believe it is absurd for a child to basically have a doll for a mother-like figure.  Children need more affection from humans.  They shouldn't have to look to a doll for some kind of love.

 

6.  Lawyers help enforce rules and principles that structure human relationships.  Lawyers counsel and plan as well.  As far as diversity, we are heterogeneous. Law has to step in to help mediate across diversity of custom.  People who worry about healthcare are people who have to worry about what the law can do.  In wealth, lawyers help achieve economies of scale and help you save money.

 

7. Regulations. Bad practices must be changed and stopped. Our nation has enough problems to worry about, we just need honest people running it.

 

8. The baby boomers will start their own businesses. They will work well into their 70's and 80's.  The elderly also will provide opportunities for teenage entrepreneurs to perform duties for the elderly, such as, running errands and doing household chores.

 

9.  I do not feel it will cause an improvement.  New propositions will not be put into use more than existing measures.  You have to talk major companies into accepting these proposal into action. The people must accept  the terms of the proposals.

 

10.  Truett Cathy and Tom Lewis both deeply care for children. Cathy organized scholarships and Lewis set up after school programs as well as scholarships.  Cathy and Lewis are both religious. Cathy teaches Sunday School everyday and Lewis makes sure there is time for Bible study.