By Paulina Leskow, ’24

Staff Writer

Accountability is defined as the justification of actions or decisions. But why is accountability important? Accountability is taking responsibility for actions, which will increase trust between one another. Accountability is also valuing one’s work, therefore eliminating distractions and spending more time and effort on what’s important. In my life, being accountable for my decisions has benefited me, but times that I have not been accountable ended in a negative outcome.

Ever since I was a little girl, my parents always told me about accountability. They told me that I need to be responsible for my actions. I did not think accountability was anything important, just another one of those things my parents would tell me, like how I should eat my green vegetables to grow stronger. But what I did not know was that showing accountability can have positive impacts. I remember at school, I always wanted to have all A’s, the best grades in the class. That was not always the  case, though. In seventh grade, I struggled with my grades and was only hanging on by a thread. It frustrated me constantly. Why did I not get this question right? Why did the teacher take off three points for that? I would wonder angrily as I received my grades back. Then, one day in Spanish class, I got a test back. I got a 100, finally a grade I was proud of. As my teacher reviewed the test with our class, I realized that something was not right; I got a question wrong. He must have not noticed when he was grading my test. Although my first instinct was to leave the grade and forget about the incorrect question, something inside me told me that I was cheating. I knew if I did not speak up about it, the guilt would follow me for months.

So, I decided to do what was best, I told my teacher that I completed the question wrong even though he accidentally marked it correct. I will never forget what this teacher told me: “Paulina, thank you for being honest with me and being accountable for your mistake. Because you told me, I will not only keep the grade the way it is, but I will give you two more points for being truthful. Thank you.” I then realized that being responsible for my mistakes will result in a positive outcome, whether it be extra points or just releasing the guilt I felt. 

The life lesson that teacher gave me inspired me to be more accountable for my actions, but I am by no means a perfect person. There have been times where I was not accountable and my lack of honesty and responsibility did not result in the way I had hoped. I remember, one time I received a beautiful, blue $20 Lokai bracelet for Christmas. Collecting Lokais was in season and blue was the newly released color. I was so excited that I wore all five of my Lokais everywhere I went, but there was one problem: the bracelets were pretty fragile and extremely hard to remove. One day, coming back from a school concert late at night, I put on a tight jacket with the bracelet still on my arm. When we came home, I was in such a rush to take off the jacket that the bracelet broke. I felt it snap under my jacket, but I did not want my family, especially my mom, to find out. I thought she was going to scream at me and then give me that awkward conversation about honoring valuables and not being in such a rush. What did I do? I hid the bracelet in a drawer under my desk. I knew my mom would eventually ask where the bracelet was, so I had to come up with an idea to fix it quickly. At the time, I thought superglue was the cure for everything, so one night, I took the glue from my mom’s room and tried to fix my bracelet. It took about two weeks for me to lose hope. The fabric of the bracelet was not adhering with the superglue, and it only made the broken bracelet look worse. Then, I thought that I had dug myself into a deep enough hole and did not want to get into any more trouble if my mom caught me. Okay, I will tell mom, just not right now, I told myself almost everyday until she found out.

I remember the day so clearly. It was a Sunday afternoon, my siblings and dad were out playing sports and I was sitting alone on the couch. My mom entered my room and asked, “Paulina, why is there superglue on your desk?” No! I forgot to hide the superglue under the desk. I rushed into the room and tried to distract her from further investigating. That failed instantly. She soon found the completely destroyed, glue-covered bracelet and gave me a look of disappointment I had never seen before. Right at the moment, I started bawling my eyes out. The guilt, sadness and frustration I was holding in all came out in that moment. I wanted to hide under my covers and never come out again.

My mother calmly placed the bracelet and the superglue in her pocket and sat down next to me. She said, “Paulina, why did you not tell me the bracelet broke right away? We could have fixed it in the moment, before you made it worse with the glue. I understand that you did not want me to get mad, but what you did, keeping secrets, lying, hiding things, is not okay with me. And all the guilt and sadness you feel now could have all been prevented. We are a family and we tell each other everything. Be responsible for your actions. I will do my best to fix it.” Although we never did end up fixing the bracelet, the bracelet taught me something valuable: to be accountable for my actions. To tell someone if I made a mistake. To own up to my responsibility or there will ultimately be negative consequences.

Accountability is being responsible for your actions and your mistakes. Showing accountability can lead to rewards for honesty, and other positive outcomes. Not being accountable for your actions will lead to guilt, remorse, and negative results.

Featured image: https://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/issues/guilt