Everyone lives in this world through the vision of his or her own eyes. There is no exception to this, as we have all lived this way our entire life. Even parents. Sure, her children may be her entire world to a mother, but even then, the mother sees this world through her own eyes, wondering what she can do to give her children a wonderful life. The question comes down to whether we are being selfish by only seeing this world through our own eyes or if that is simply just innocent means of stability and reliance. There is a defined line between self-centeredness and self-reliance. If seeing all aspects of this world through our own eyes demonstrates self-centeredness, we need to learn how to experience others' perceptions. Contrary, if seeing all aspects of this world through our own eyes demonstrates self-reliance, we need to assure ourselves that is, indeed, okay to put ourselves before others in regards to personal happiness and success. The comparison of David Foster Wallace's, "This is Water," to Ralph Waldo Emerson's, "Self-Reliance," illustrates the defining line between self-centeredness and self-reliance. 

As David Foster Wallace states, "Think about it. There is no experience you've had that you were not the absolute center of," (xiii). Whether we want to admit it or not, this is true. Starting from the very moment we wake up in the morning, every thought erupting in our heads is revolved around ourselves. It does not seem that even for the humblest of people this can be accurate, but we do not have to be intentionally vicious to be self-centered. Everyone is self-centered to some extent. In "This is Water," Wallace refers to relatable situations many of us often encounter on a daily basis, such as simple traffic. We get annoyed because a large SUV is blocking us from make a turn. Such an inoperative action could easily be the spark of a terrible day for us. Why? Because we only see this innocent mistake of the SUV driver as an intentional "try-me" moment towards ourselves. How likely is it that the driver of the SUV purposely wants to get in our way of making the turn, knowing we are already late for work, knowing we will get in trouble with our boss, knowing we will be fired, knowing that our lives will end up miserable? Do they really know? Or is this dramatic assumption based upon the fact that we can only see our own motives, not thinking for a second about the fact that the driver of the SUV, as Wallace suggests in his speech, has been in a "horrible auto accident in the past and now finds driving so traumatic that their therapist has all but ordered them to get a huge, heavy SUV so they can feel safe enough to drive," therefore not realizing the rear of their car is blocking the turning lane (xv)? The act of revolving all happenings in this world around ourselves is not intentional; it just happens to be a natural instinct we all seem to have. The problem that Wallace finds with this sense of self-centeredness we have all become accustomed to is that it builds up continuously over time, and when we young adults eventually become a part of adulthood, we have no sense of what "day in, day out," truly is (xiv). We are not going to understand that even though we may not be happy with our own lives and our own routines, the rest of the world neither wants to see nor contribute to that unhappiness, as it is completely irrelevant to everyone else. They are too concerned with whether or not they are happy with their own routines. We have been taught all along that if we are unhappy with some aspect of our lives to change it, but by this point, even though the eyes through which we see this world may see the great possibilities that change can lead us to, there are two overpowering sights that tend to block our vision of change- fear and laziness. This entire idea of settling in life, which unfortunately seems to become more and more common, is depressing; however, it is simply composed of assumptions. Wallace's, "This is Water" should teach us nothing more than to accept others' perceptions as insight, which can lead to the break of routine and unhappiness that is very often said to be a part of adulthood.  

In "Self-Reliance," Emerson takes a more positive approach towards one's self than Wallace does. Both understand that our own eyes have and will most likely continue to be the only way through which we see this world, but while Wallace believes we should attempt to see as others do at times, Emerson instead encourages us to broaden our own perspective. In life, we are given certain experiences for a reason, regardless of the outcome. We should learn to accept all experiences in life, even the most negative ones, as learning processes instead of assuming we are targets for negativity. Focusing on the ways in which negative experiences have affected us is simply just a waste of time. Like Emerson believes, "There is a time in every man's education where he arrives at the conviction that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion The power which resides in him is new in nature, and none but he knows what that is which he can do, nor does he know until he has tried" (439). It is self-centered to say that negativity we experience is intentional. Instead, we should guide the eyes of which we see this world in the direction of realizing that what we have to offer, individually, is nothing like what anyone else has to offer. The world has not yet accepted our proposal until we provide it. We must not be so quick to assume that doing so will result in catastrophe. We merely need to break the routine that we hate so much. This is self-reliance. This is the belief that we, and only we, have the power to provide ourselves with true fulfillment and happiness. "Man is his own star; and the soul that can render an honest and a perfect man, commands all light, all influence, all fate; nothing to him falls early or too late" (438).

"This is Water" can definitely be seen as a more discouraging idea of what the future holds for us than "Self-Reliance." Although, Wallace's interpretation of how we see the world is not completely inaccurate. There will always be that sense of so-called self-centeredness, but we can take this idea that has such a negative connotation and turn it into self-reliance. While "This is Water" does take a more negative approach on life, there are elements of the speech that can help us young adults as we make our way into the real world. Wallace is basically warning us of the changes we can make now, at this stage in life, to prevent settling for unhappiness. This warning along with Emerson's encouragement is enough to change our mindset and make us realize the importance of the vision we have been given and where it can take us. The way Wallace addresses his audience, by referring to them as, "graduating seniors," puts us readers into the position of the audience, creating a more realistic perspective. In order to make the changes that Wallace encourages, we must apply Emerson's lesson of relying on ourselves. "Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string. Accept the place the divine providence has found for you, the society of your contemporaries, the connection of events And now we are men not cowards fleeing before a revolution" (439).

