Sometimes things happen that you have no control over, and you become a victim. However when you allow a situation to control you, you become a victim. A victim is a person who doesn’t think they can control the outcome of a situation. In Adopting a Creator Mindset Dr.Downing states that, “ironically, responsibility has gotten a bad reputation. Some see it as a heavy burden they have to lug through life. Quite the contrary, personal responsibility is the foundation four building success. (Downing 2)” I agree, because responsibility is a huge part of growing up. Responsibility feels like a full time job to me. Just like you have to get training before you start a new job you have to prepare yourself to take on all of your responsibility. Accepting responsibility and doing all you can to be successful is called being a creator. Creators.
    Mirman’s article explains the difference between a victim and creator. A victim will respond to any situation with an excuse, while a creator will do whatever it takes to get the outcome they desire. When you have a problem you should stop, and think about whether you are really a victim. You should ask yourself if you are the reason you didn’t get the outcome you want, and how you can get it done without putting the blame on someone else. Being a creator can help you become more successful in college and life. While playing victim will get you nowhere, but will keep you stuck in the same position.
`    Being a victim is an easy role to play, because being a creator actually takes work. I have played the victim role multiple times in my life, but one memory sticks out to me the most. My senior year my teacher had given us a five page essay to write. She told us about the project two weeks before we even started, so that we would get a head start. She gave us strict directions and told us if we turned it in at least a week early she would revise it for us. I knew I was a horrible writer; therefore I should have taken advantage of her offer. Me being the procrastinator I am waited five days before it was due to start. I finished my essay with two days to spare. I always wait till last minute to print my papers, because I am unorganized and will lose them. So I didn’t print it, and I also never saved it to my computer. I just left it open on my desktop.  The day before it’s due I go in my room to print it, and my sister is on my computer typing her paper. I asked her if she saved it, but she didn’t answer me. She turned around in the chair slowly, and had a nervous look on her face. I e-mailed my teacher, and told her what happened. She responded with a long paragraph that basically called me a procrastinator. I knew I should’ve been did it, but at the time I looked at it as my sister’s fault. Luckily I am the type of person who has to write things down before it is typed, but my original was at school.  The next day I went to school early got my original copy, and typed half of it before my first period. If English wasn’t my fourth period I wouldn’t have had lunch to finish my paper. I turned it in on time, and received an eighty-nine percent, and my teacher was upset. Then she gave me a lecture about being able to get higher grade if I put more effort, and my full potential. Back then I just wanted her to shut up, but now I realize my grade would have been a lot better if I actually tried.
    A creator that I wish I could be like is my sister Felicia. She always finds a way to get her work done. She works as a RN at a hospital during the week and a nursing home on the weekend. The beginning of the summer she got accepted to The Bond Secures Memorial College of Nursing’s Bachelor of Science RN-BSN online program. One of her classes was through Paul D. Camp, because Bond Secure didn’t offer it. For some reason it would let her pay online, and because of her work schedule she couldn’t go to the school. She called the registration office, and found out they dropped her from the class. The president of the school emailed her, to figure out why she dropped out of the class. She explained to him the problem, and he got her back in the class. She had the same problem as before. She emailed him, but a week went by and he didn’t respond. The class had started, and he still didn’t respond. Almost three weeks he noticed she was dropped again, because he e-mailed her. They talked over the phone and got everything straight, and paid for. By the time she was enrolled in the class work was due. Being the proactive person she is, when she was first enrolled she started doing her work. She was able to turn all her work in, because she did it ahead of time. No matter what she always gets her work done. Even working twelve, even sixteen hour shifts she has her work completed ahead of time.
    My first few weeks of college I played the victim, but once I realized it’s nothing like high school I stopped. Reading my college skills book I realized I was playing the victim. I realize I need to stop making excuses, and do what needs to be done. I am still in the processes of becoming a creator, and it’s hard not to fall back into old habits. I want to pass biology and psychology. Biology and psychology are two classes that I have no experience in. I used that as an excuse and though that I tried my best. After my first failed test in biology I started to take notes, and take time to read my book. My recent goal was to try to get an eighty percent on my psychology exam, after barely passing my quizzes. I knew I had to change things. I actually payed attention in class, took note, and studied my notes. I took the exam and got ninety points out of one hundred. Not only did I achieve my goal, but I went beyond my goal and got a ninety percent. I learned that all I have to do is use all the resources given to me.
    Trying to stay on track and meet my goals has been harder than I thought it would be. I pay attention in class, but every time I improve in one class my grade starts to decrease in the other. I have been focusing more on biology than I have been on psychology. For me to get back on track I need to divide my time evenly between the two classes, because so far it’s always been one over the other. I still have not been using all of my resources provided to me. I know I need a tutor, but I still have not gone to the library to sign up. I have improved on my communication with my teachers, because usually I don’t ask questions. I learned that if I don’t ask questions, or ask my teacher to further explain something I’m wasting my time and theirs. In a way, their presence is like a resource and I shouldn’t just sit there if I’m confused I should take advantage of the time they leave open for questions.

 

                

 

 

                                                                   
  Mirman, David. "Do You Think like a Victim or a Creator?" You Are The Prime Mover. 2 Jan. 2012. Web.17 September.2015. <http://youaretheprimemover.com/2012/do-you-think-like-a-victim-or-a-creator>. 

 

Downing, Skip. "Adopting a Creator Mindset." On Course: Strategies for Creating Success in College and in Life. 7th ed. Mason, OH: Cengage, 2014. Print.