
Looking at the world around, it is easy to get caught up and not be aware of what others are experiencing. This modern way of life, being arrogant, close minded, and power hungry has taken over how people think. David Foster Wallace addresses this problem in his commencement speech to the graduating class of Kenyon College. Wallace talks about the fact people today believe they are the center of the universe and are power hungry individuals who only look out for themselves. These same people only think one way and not realize that real freedom involves sacrifice. The point of Wallace’s speech was to reach the newly graduated individuals and speak to them about the value of the liberal arts degree that they had just earned. Through his commencement speech, “This is Water”, David Foster Wallace was able to inform the students that they now have the freedom of education, to be less arrogant and close minded, and to learn how to think through greater awareness of the world around them.  

One of Wallace’s main points in his speech was that with this new degree in liberal arts these kids do not just have the ability to get a job and make money but also the FREEDOM to do other things with the education. Wallace mentions that real freedom is sacrifice. With this degree these students now can give themselves choices on how to act and what to do. They do not just have to follow on way of living they can create their own path. When Wallace mentions the freedom of education he talks about how, “The really important kind of freedom involves attention and discipline, and being able truly to care about other people and to sacrifice for them over and over in myriad petty, unsexy ways every day,” (Wallace, XVI). The real value of this degree is that these students have something that others do not. They have the ability to think freely and in different ways. They should value that instead of only thinking one narrow minded way, they now have the ability to be the bigger person and think about how that person must be feeling. Wallace also talks about how the real value in education is awareness. When someone is aware they do something as simple as changing someone’s day but that has a ripple effect that could change many people’s days. Wallace mentions that, “Awareness of what is so real and essential,” (Wallace, XVII). These students can now stop and be aware and conscious of what is going on in the world around them and how they can help other. Wallace is; trying to teach these kids that some people are not as lucky as them to have the Freedom of education and the ability to be aware of what is happening around them and they should cherish the value of that.

Another point David Foster Wallace makes is that most people are arrogant and narrow minded point of view to life. People go through life thinking they are the center of the universe and they are the only ones who matter. However, with this new degree and education these students should change the way they think because they have the knowledge too. They are the ones who should stop and not think everything is about them, instead they should try and go out of their way to help others. Wallace makes the point that, “Because a huge percentage of the stuff that I tend to be automatically certain of is, it turns out, totally wrong and deluded,” (Wallace, XII). Even Wallace admits that sometimes when he thinks he is totally correct he in fact totally wrong. People believe they are right about ever8ything and can never be wrong but that is the wrong way to go about life, instead Wallace is trying to talk to these students about how they should open their minds to new possibilities and think with an open mind instead of a narrow one. Wallace also talks about how even he is narrow minded sometimes and it takes work and time to change the way one thinks, “About MY hungriness and MY fatigue and MY desire to just get home, and it’s going to seem for all the world like everybody else is just in my way,” (Wallace, XIV). Wallace uses the story of going to the super market after work and being tired and the super market was filled with people. He admits that he just wanted to be angry and think about how all this inconvenienced him. But his point to the students is yes, everyone does think that way, but they should also be the ones to stop and think about others. Think about that underpaid and over worked cashier. Wallace was trying to tell these students that instead of thinking it’s all about them, be the ones to think about other people. David Foster Wallace wanted these students to be less arrogant and stop thinking they are the center of the universe because they are not. 

In addition to Wallace making points about the freedom of education and thinking less arrogantly, he also talks about learning how to think. Most people go about life not realizing there are multiple ways to think and that follows Wallace’s point of freedom of education. Learning and teaching yourself how to think requires work and time and patience. It requires someone to be smart and educated. Wallace brings up the point that in order to think differently one must think and use the education they have gained to extract different meaning from experiences. Wallace talks about what learning how to thinks really means when he says, “It means being conscious and aware enough to choose what you pay attention to and to choose how you construct meaning from experience,” (Wallace, XIII). Wallace is trying to teach the students that when they learn how to think they will have the ability to look at situations in ways others cannot. Wallace is trying to teach these kids that with this degree they now have the ability to exercise control over their brain and to train and teach themselves to think in ways other people do not. Even though this point ties in with all of Wallace’s other point of freedom of education he still made a big deal about how these kids need to learn how to be different. Furthermore, with the supermarket example, when Wallace says, “Or I can choose to force myself to consider the likelihood that everyone else in the supermarket’s checkout line is just as bored and frustrated as I am, and that some of these people probably have harder, more tedious and painful lives than I do,” (Wallace, XV). This was Wallace providing an example of a time where he exercised control over his mind and even though his first instinct was to just think about himself he said no and made himself think about the others around him. That was his point, that yes your brain will automatically think that way but with practice and concentration they can learn how to think correctly and change the way they think. 

Overall David Foster Wallace was trying to inform the student that what they just earned is more than just a degree and a job. With that degree they have the ability to teach themselves how to think, to think less arrogantly, and the freedom of education. All of Wallace’s points tie together in the sense that with this freedom of education the students have the ability to learn how to think and in that they can then think in a better way. Wallace did a great job of using personal and non-personal examples to inform the graduates that their degree is not just a means to make money but a freedom to change their world and help others. If they have the awareness to embrace the opportunity.