Watching the “This is Water”
speech by David Foster Wallace brought to light some very interesting
questions and philosophies about life. After graduation, and after
four or so years of college, I will be entering the adult world of
new responsibility. The speech introduces the harsh reality of the
rat race, usually obscured by the optimistic view of freedom and new
possibility. But it also teaches that we have the choice to make
things not seem so depressingly tedious and frustrating. With
education, we are given real freedom to choose to be aware of our
situation, and avoid the tedium of the daily grind. The speech also
brings up something I have been trying to think about each day, the
fact that everyone who is “in our way” has their own place to be,
their own schedule, their own cross to bear. We try to dehumanize
people and convince ourselves they are merely our supporting cast,
impeding the progression of our all-important plot. It really is
important to stop doing that as frequently as possible, in order to
not assume that everyone is in our way and inconveniencing us just to
spite us, and see them as human beings with feelings and purposes of
their own. The speech has reminded me of the importance of this task,
and emphasized the importance it plays in being aware.
The idea of leading a boring,
repetitive life working at a desk job everyday is not pleasing to me
in the least. My ideal job, although I am not sure how likely it will
be that I have it, would be one that does not require a strict
schedule or dress code, and where work varies and is not the same
task day after day. Even if I land this ideal job, I will still have
to deal with other responsibilities, like shopping and scheduling
appointments. I will try to apply the philosophy suggested by the
video and choose not to assume the worst of everyone and every
situation, instead opting for a more realistic view in order to avoid
falling into the easily accepted, negative view of life's routine nature.
