Commencement Of A Life Time By David Foster Wallace Analysis

The Commencement of a Life Time David Foster Wallace addressed the graduating class of Kenyon College in 2005. He stated that “It is the real value of a real education, which has almost nothing to do with knowledge, and everything to do with simple awareness; awakened of what is so real and essential, so hidden in plain sight all around us, all of the time, that we have to keep reminding ourselves over and over “This is water, this is water” (They say, I say 209). He spoke mainly over thought, what to think about and how people always have the choice. Another one of his main points was that a person’s “default settings” are completely self centered and it is much more rewarding and satisfying to think of others rather than ourselves. His addressing of the class of 2005, at Kenyon was exactly what a graduation college student needs; a reality check that the world does not revolve around a single person, no matter how important anyone think they are, everyone is just a pawn in the world, some may have more influence than others, but no one is more important than the other. …show more content…
However, someone may have seen it as something that is hardwired into your mind. There is no way to change the thoughts in ones’ mind, but it is possible alter your thoughts and their patterns. Thought is portrayed as a passive process which it is not at all. Thought is a very mentally engaging activity if you peruse it in the correct manner. Thought can be altered due to a change of perspective over one subject matter. The human mind is as the clichés says “an excellent servant, but a terrible master” everyone must always keep a constant check on their thoughts and what the mind roams to; it will almost always be worthless to the task at hand unless one is to monitor their