David Foster Wallace wrote "This Is Water" for a commencement address to the 2005 graduating class of Kenyon College.  Wallace was supposed to talk about the meaning of a liberal arts degree and explain how there is more value in the degree than just the high paying job that comes with it after you graduate.  Throughout the speech Wallace states that the most valuable thing that comes from a liberal arts degree is that it teaches you how to think.  More specifically, Wallace wanted us to interpret this as learning how to think positively about the negative incidents we are faced with in our everyday lives and use those experiences in a positive way so that we don't fall victim to our own negative, selfish default way of thinking which prevents us from enjoying life.

Wallace initially shows us how not remaining optimistic when we are faced with negative incidents can make us miserable. He uses the example of the boredom and repetitiveness of the life of an adult and how much damage it does to one's mind.  "The point is that petty, frustrating crap like this is exactly where the work of choosing comes in. Because the traffic jams and crowded aisles and long checkout lines give me time to think, and if I don't make a conscious decision about how to think and what to pay attention to, I'm going to be pissed and miserable every time I have to food-shop, because my natural default-setting is the certainty that situations like this are really all about me " (Wallace XIV).  He describes in detail how some of the routine things that an adult day consists of, like getting up for a hard job, long grocery shopping lines and endless bumper to bumper traffic can make us think in our default state.  In this default state we are so caught up in trying to solve our own needs that we view everybody else as a roadblock that ultimately prevents us from getting where we want to go.  When we repeat our daily routine and we think this way, then we will be frustrated or simply in a bad mood all of the time.

This is where Wallace wants us to understand his message of thinking differently or positively so that we are not disheartened for the rest of our existence.  Wallace illustrates the importance of conditioning ourselves to think positively when these situations present themselves.  "If you've really learned how to think, how to pay attention, then you will know you have other options. It will actually be within your power to experience a crowded, loud, slow, consumer-hell-type situation as not only meaningful but sacred, on fire with the same force that lit the stars compassion, love, the sub-surface unity of all things." (Wallace XVI).  This quote proves that Wallace encourages us to view life more as an optimist because if we do think like this then the most annoying moments in our life become more productive and less tedious.

Another point that Wallace brings up in his speech is that in adult life there is no such thing as atheism.  Wallace tells us a story within his speech about an atheist who gets lost in a blizzard and cries out to God for help, which ends up saving him.  Wallace brings this up to support his belief that we need to think positively when life throws us a curve ball.   It is very common for people to pray when they are feeling hopeless or stuck in a bad situation. By praying, they are putting their faith in a higher force.  This enables them to have hope and when we as humans are hopeful, we are still able to see the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel.  Wallace explains that water is symbolic of the process of trying to think positively throughout each boring repetitive day of our life.  He uses water to represent life because it is always around us in plain sight and we, as humans, just have to keep treading through life while remaining confident, hopeful and positive.  "The capital-T Truth is about life before death. It is about making it to 30, or maybe 50, without wanting to shoot yourself in the head. It is about simple awareness   awareness of what is so real and essential, so hidden in plain sight all around us, that we have to keep reminding ourselves, over and over: "This is water, this is water." It is unimaginably hard to do this, to stay conscious and alive, day in and day out." (Wallace XVII). The title of the speech is "This Is Water" which clearly proves that the main purpose of the speech is about getting through life and being happy even when situations are less than favorable. The bottom line is, we can either sink or swim.

In conclusion, if we listen and interpret Wallace's message, we can coach ourselves in the moment to remain positive regardless of how hard it may be. We will be able to get through the annoying parts of life without feeling like we are drowning.  This is the purpose of his speech and this is water. 

