Like most people, I often avoid my own responsibilities. It’s not that I can’t tackle them on my own, but I avoid them for the same reason everyone else does—I’m lazy. As a result of that, I usually crash and burn in my own negligence just to get things done before they blow up in my face.

There are tons of teenagers and adults alike who always want to cheat their way out of responsibilities. Whether they’re doing taxes or completing a worksheet in Physics, there’s going to be a question of, “Do I really want to do this?”

The fact of the matter is that you will either own up to your responsibilities or suffer life’s consequences. If I choose not to finish this article and go on with wasting even more time, I will end up sacrificing a grade or be assigned to complete two articles the week after.

At times,  repercussions are more serious than a lower grade. For example, missing work for a couple of days may end up in one getting fired from their job. If one is too lazy to show up for work, chances are they won’t get off their couch to find a new job.

One of the reasons why this can happen are the excuses teenagers make to avoid their responsibilities. We teenagers often find any kind of reason to get out of doing work. One of the first steps to succeeding at life is to recognize those mistakes.

Of course, people have different responsibilities and not all of them will be as easy as doing dishes. My obligations include: finding a job, writing weekly articles, signing up for scholarships, all school work and all while balancing this with my hobbies.

One by one, placing each responsibility in their place on your list of priorities will help with what is more important. There will be times when there aren’t enough hours in the day to do everything. This is fine, but working diligently and managing time will lead to less stress.

Getting one’s life and priorities straight will probably not come all at once, but taking baby steps is still progress. Fabricating a scapegoat with excuses will only end in disappointment—avoiding responsibilities aren’t worth the outcomes.