Foster Wallace's story, This is Water, given to the 2005 graduating class of Kenyon College, explains that the key to life is through happiness; he explains that one should go through life with a positive outlook and make life worth the living through kindness and learning how to balance the " day in and day out," (Wallace, XII-XIV). As the years pass after his death in 2008, the message of his speech becomes clearer; he was telling his student to live life positively and to the fullest, and not to let everyday pass them by without looking at things differently and finding happiness in every situation. One song in particular that compliments Wallace's This is Water is "Life is Worth Living" by Justin Bieber. The song focuses on getting through the toughest parts in life and explaining that no matter what, life is always worth living. Bieber describes vulnerability and the meaning of hope throughout his song. This essay shows that the meaning and how living a more optimistic life can be achieved is through having a more positive outlook, experiencing life's rocky moments, and the power of freedom, and it will describe how the song and text compliment one another in order to get the point across.

People constantly ask what life is really about. Well, what the heck is life? "What the hell is water?" (Wallace XII). Life is about being optimistic; life is about finding who one is in this world; life is finding happiness in everything. Happiness is in everything, as twisted as it may be. People can find happiness in just about everything: reading, writing, walking, sports, academics, and sometimes even in a twisted manner like murder. A great amount of people live with being unhappy and angry all the time, and they try to avoid it, but one must understand that one cannot escape it. The same idea that is provided by the movie, Rocky Balboa, is describing life as hard, difficult, and definitely a pain in the behind. It says that no matter how hard life will come at a person, but to keep going and not to give up or let anything anger or upset one. What one must do is, take a step back, and just decide how one must be and go for it. "The point is that petty, frustrating crap like this is exactly where the work of choosing comes in," (Wallace, XIV). Wallace explains that one chooses to act frustrated and angry at the world. It is strictly the person's decision on whether or not they should change and see life in a positive outlook and take others into consideration as well, but one should know that they predict what life is going to be like; they can choose how they react, and only then is that a measurement of one as a person, and life can then be made into something positive. 

In Bieber's song, "Life is Worth Living", the topic of vulnerability and the never-ending message of hope. He discusses how a person was at their most vulnerable state and having a cry for help and someone willing to give it to them. It teaches a life lesson explaining that no matter what life throws at a person, life is worth living. "Life is Worth Living" shows people that life can always turn itself around. " The meaning of forgiveness. People make mistakes, doesn't mean you have to give in, life is worth living again," (Bieber). He explains that not everything is going to go the way that people plan it to, so having a positive outlook and being able to forgive is definitely something that will benefit people later on in life.

This is Water and "Life is Worth Living" deliver the same message in the aspect of life. Bieber's song compliments Wallace's speech because it adds emphasis on how much life has to offer and how having a positive outlook can change one's perspective of everything. "Life is Worth Living" backs up the point of having a positive outlook on life can affect everything in the long run. In the end, it is up to each individual to choose whether or not to be happy. Wallace discusses in everyday life, when one is simply in line for grocery or whenever else, people are given a choice to act the way they do. 

Again, please don't think that I'm giving you moral advice or that I'm saying you're 'supposed to' think this way, or that anyone expects you to just automatically do it, because it's hard, it takes will and mental effort, and if you're like me, some days you won't be able to do it, or you just flat-out won't want to. But most days, if you're aware enough to give yourself a choice, you can choose to look differently at this fat, dead-eyed, over-made-lady who just screamed at her little child in the checkout line- maybe she's not usually like this; maybe she's been up three straight nights holding the hand of her husband who's dying of bone cancer, or maybe this very lady is the low-wage clerk at the Motor Vehicle Dept. who just yesterday helped your spouse resolve a nightmarish red-tape problem though some small act of bureaucratic kindness," (Wallace, XV-XVI).

That is when choices come into play; happiness is in the choice. 

The power of freedom is something to take into consideration when finding happiness. With freedom, there are endless possibilities of what to be free about: how to worship, jobs, cars, etc. Wallace talks about the kind of freedom that is beneficial to those surrounding one. "The really important kind of freedom involves attention, and awareness, and discipline, and effort, and being able to truly to care about other people and to sacrifice for them, over and over, in a myriad petty little unsexy ways, everyday. That is real freedom," (Wallace, XVII). By having this freedom, one can find a sense of peace and accomplishment in assisting others, therefore increasing their happiness. 

In This Is Water Wallace was trying to convey to the class of 2005 to live their life to the fullest and always be happy because Wallace never had the chance to because he hung himself in the year 2008. He wanted them to have a life worth living for. The story explains what life is really about and how analyzing life in a positive perspective rather than a negative one can benefit a person in the long run. Bieber's song compliments Wallace's speech because it adds emphasis on how much life has to offer and how having a positive outlook can change one's perspective of everything. In conclusion, "Life is Worth Living" and This is Water work well together because they explain that no matter what life throws at a person, life is always worth living. 

