In “This is Water” by David Foster Wallace, Wallace’s main goal is to explain the real purpose of a liberal arts education. Wallace says that the purpose of a liberal arts education is to teach students how to think. By this Wallace does not mean the way people think about solving a math problem or the way people analyze a piece of literature, he means in what way do people perceive the world and everyday situations. Wallace uses the repetition of the word and the theme of the word “awareness” throughout his commencement speech to help students realize, that they are not the center of every situation, that the day to day slog does not have to be completely unbearable, and that there is more to the world than people allow themselves to recognize. Through out the story Wallace emphasizes humans default setting which is our unescapable automatic setting to put ourselves and our needs first. 

Self awareness is necessary for humans to live happily in todays society. Being self aware is not necessarily an easy task to do, and it takes a conscious effort on a daily basis. In “This is Water,” a point Wallace makes is that the entire world is not centered around your feelings and your thoughts. Wallace makes this point by the diction and syntax he uses.  Wallace say’s “Because my natural default setting is the certainty that situations like this are really all about me. About MY hungriness and MY fatigue and MY desire to just get home, and it is going to seem for all the world that everyone else is just in my way” (Wallace XIV). In this quote Wallace uses the diction by capitalizing my every time he says it to emphasize the self centered ness .This basic self centeredness is a natural instinct, but no one ever looks at it that way because no one wants to think of themselves as a self-centered person. This default setting is so hard to get past because people can not escape their own needs and wants. Foster says “Other people’s thoughts and feelings have to be communicated to you somehow, but your own are so immediate, urgent, real,” (Wallace XII). In this statement, Foster is saying that it is hard to be consciously aware of other people, especially if it is unknown what is going on in their lives and your problems are literally unescapable. Therefore people have to put in the work to break free from their hard-wired default setting.  

Foster argues that by being consciously aware of oneself they are able to take a step back and look at a situation through another perspective, other than their own. For example, when the average day to day hassles take place and someone is stuck in traffic or in a long line at the grocery store, after a perplexing and strenuous day, and all they want to do is go home but instead are stuck thinking “my life sucks,” “this isn't fair” or “what did I do to deserve this.” At this point people  need to push themselves to think in a different manner because maybe the people standing around have had a much worse day. The point is no one knows, and by not knowing is all the more reason to care. Foster says, “…this is exactly where the work of choosing is gonna come in. Because the traffic jams, 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 am going to be pissed and miserable every time I have to shop,” (Wallace XIV). Wallace uses aggressive feelings to get across his point. This point sums up Foster’s argument because you can exchange these everyday hassles to any other irritating event, and if you are not choosing to be aware of your thoughts in these situations you are constantly going to be miserable.Wallace also makes his argument by using a run on sentence as a parallel to the long unseemly nature of the day.  Being aware of ones thoughts and the way he or she looks at a day to day situation can reduce their anxiety and anger and make them a much happier person. Wallace uses a relatable scenario and a hyperbole to grab the attention of the students he is talking to.

Being aware of what’s around is just simply caring. It is so easy to look at something and not see it for what it is worth. This often happens because people are not aware of what is right in front of them. This lack of awareness can prevent people from seeing some of the most beautiful things in life. Most people are so caught up in their every day lives that they only take time to be aware of the things they CHOOSE to see. Another point Foster argues is that if someone is operating on their natural default setting, they are going to be oblivious to things that happen right in front of them.  This ties back into the point that Foster makes about being the center of the universe and the center of everything that happens in life. If people just forget about their day to day hassles and how every situation is affecting them and choose to be completely and fully aware of the people and things around them, people  might be surprised what amazing things and other people you find. 

The main point that David Foster Wallace tries to get across in his commencement speech, “This is water,” is that the real purpose of a liberal arts education is to teach students how to think. And choosing to to pay attention and to be aware is what real freedom is, freedom from our default setting, freedom from being just like every other hard-wired arrogant person in the world. Wallace says, “It is about the real value of a real education, which has almost nothing to do with knowledge and everything to do with simple awareness; awareness of what is so real and essential, so hidden in plain sight all around us, all the time, that we have to keep reminding ourselves  over and over: ‘This is water.’ ‘This is water,’”(Wallace XVII). David Foster Wallace is trying to tell the graduating students that staying conscious and alive is essential and a key to a successful and happy life. 
