As I walked home Friday afternoon, I crossed Lincoln Ave. as soon as my light turned green, giving me the go-ahead.

Fortunately, it was the afternoon, so I was fairly awake – awake enough to see a car flying down Lincoln, giving a sharp right turn and almost hit me.

In the driver’s hand was a cell phone.

I could rally about texting and driving and the dangers that particular area brings, but this incident got me thinking about personal responsibility.

Personal responsibility, in this self-centered time, has taken a severe nose-dive recently.

It can crop up at any time in any situation, from anything as small as not cleaning up individual messes, to neglecting this responsibility when getting behind the wheel of a car.

When people are asking for more likes on Facebook rather than actually going out to help somebody, that is indicitave of a bigger problem.

As somebody who also can be neglectful and forgetful of personal duties and what needs to be done, I know how hard it can be to stand up and do my part.

As college students, especially, this needs to be something that is remembered more and more.

Daunting and exciting as entering the real world after our tour at Eastern may be, it also comes with a whole slew of responsibilities.

Jobs, bills, homecare and everything in between may seem like a distant trouble, especially to freshmen, but it is something that should be in the back of your head.

It starts here and now.

Take responsibility for your actions, and what consequences may come of them now and you will settle into a routine. If people remembered how their activities could affect somebody – either positively or negatively – they may be tempted to continue or halt.

Looking at the bigger picture, it is necessary to know in the years following college; you will have so many opportunities. These are opportunities for greatness – but can be squandered by not doing your specific duty.

It is easy to get lost in the hustle of individual lives – worrying about the latest status getting liked on Facebook or finally reaching your 10,000th tweet on Twitter, but in the grand scheme of things, it is not all that important.

It really isn’t.

But instead of focusing that energy on actually bettering the world, we have squandered it. Do not let these opportunities rush by because of a lack of personal responsibility.

With unnecessary violence, unnecessary malicious acts against fellow humans plaguing the world, maybe the world would be better off if people instead thought of others rather then themselves – even if it was something as small as putting away their cell phone when they went for a drive.

Bob Galuski is a senior English and journalism major. He can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].