Kenyon Commencement Speech Summary

In recent discussions of the value of a Liberal Arts education, David Foster Wallace argues that the most important aspect of such is learning to have an awareness of one’s surroundings. In his address to a college graduating class, called “Kenyon Commencement Speech,” he tells of his concerns that too much of our daily lives is focused on ourselves and too little on paying attention to things around us. We’re only concerned about our point of view when we should be open to more possibilities. An example that he gives of this is when we are stuck in traffic after being cut off by another car. If we’re focused on ourselves, we will just become agitated and angry. However, if we’re thinking objectively as a Liberal Arts education teaches you