A Reflection on David Foster Wallace’s Commencement Speech

David Foster Wallace's speech really opened my eyes. It was not a typical commencement speech I would expect to hear at a college graduation. Wallace sent a unique message to the graduating class that the real value of an education has nothing to do with knowledge; instead, the meaning of our lives comes from careful consideration of the platitudes. This speech changed my opinion about the significance of learning. Earning a degree and filling one's mind with knowledge is not enough to be considered educated. Instead of the students who are trying to express professor's ideas fluently, those who are learning how to think from different perspectives are the most successful students.

Wallace's speech is inspirational and very relatable. He revealed the reality of a typical adult life and elaborated on the repetition life brings across. I strongly agree with Wallace's statement that the goal of education is to help people become less self-centered. After a long. frustrated day, we are stressed. However, when the brain automatically switches to its "natural default setting", well-educated people would choose to be aware - aware of others and that they might be experiencing even tougher times. We cannot just think about ourselves. Who knows, maybe the young boy I saw at the grocery store just dropped out of college, with no job nor hope, and I would not even know what he was going through. The life we live might be stressful, but it is a blessing compared to many other people.

Knowing that Wallace took his own life a few years after delivering the speech, I think this message has even more meaning. Wallace lived this message. His natural inclination, because of his depression, was to focus on himSELF. Based on his speech, Wallace must have worked very hard and very consciously to resist that inclination. He had to force himself to turn away from his "natural default setting", which was a true struggle for him, and in the speech he determined that everyone else also struggles with it to some degrees. Selfishness is the root of all evil, Commit suicide was Wallace's way to escape from our natural default setting.

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Wallace's speech reminded me of a quote from Marcus Aurelius: "Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth." It's hard to accept but important to remember that there is no absolute fact. We often fail to recognize that there are different opinions on things we consider as a fact. We all have options, and we are in control of our actions and thoughts. Indeed, many times, a small shift in perspective in make a huge difference in daily life.  As many know, Wallaces work deals a lot of the addictions we find everyday in our lives. Addiction is shown in this question stated in his story Here and There: A show of hands on the part of those who are willing to believe that I kiss her photo (Wallace 151). Maybe thats why some people view his work as offensive.

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