According to Websters online dictionary the word personal means, "of or pertaining to a particular person; relating to, or affecting an individual; peculiar or proper to private concerns; not public or general" and last but not least "relating to an individual, his/her character, conduct motives or private affairs. The definition of responsibility is as follows; The state or duty of being accountable or answerable, as for a trust debt or obligation. If the two words are placed together as personal responsibility it would mean that one is held accountable for there own actions as well as their private well being. It is the act of taking care of ones self through morals, religion and or education.
Personal responsibility is one of the most important tasks that an individual will ever learn in there lifetime. The learning process begins at an early age and expands through the aging process. Simple and complex task fall under the "Personal Responsibility" category. It can range from doing something as simple as learning how to tie a shoe lace, to earning a degree and beyond. I believe there really is no limit to how far one can go when dealing there personal life and experiences. In certain situations some personal responsibility become second nature to the human race such as waking up in the morning, getting dressed and bathed for the day, brushing your teeth, going to school etc. These are the more simple examples. More complex examples would be deciding to go to college or getting a job to support a family or even saving money to buy something you really want or need.
In my own words, there are many different levels of personal responsibility and the level would depend on the age of the person and where they are mentally. It also depends on how far the individual wants to advance in there life, do they go above and beyond or do the stay still. This important feature is embedded and instilled at a young age. I believe that most of it starts in the home. If parents don't expose there children then some important values are lost. For example, if a young child now ever learns how to read, how will they conquerer the more difficult tasks such as graduating from high school.