What the hell is Water?

I saw a man the other day walking down the sidewalk. He was heavily dressed and carried two large, stuffed bags while pushing a cart that looked like it was crammed with his belongings. His salt and pepper hair hung limply on his oily face. He looked tired, but still showed courtesy towards other people walking on the sidewalk with him. All these indications points to this man being homeless.

As the weather turns into a more summery climate, you will see an increase of homeless people walking the streets. I know homeless shelters are still open to all who need it, but most homeless people will wander the streets in search of a way out of their deep chasm of life’s hardships. They will stand on street corners asking for money from anyone with ears. Most of the time, (and I do this too), people will just look forward as they walk by to avoid the awkward eye contact and the cheap lie of “I’m sorry. I don’t have any cash on me.” I don’t always do this, and sometimes I even go out of my way to find a dollar for a person who sits on the streets desperately begging for some charity, but sometimes it is necessary to keep walking in order to get by in a large city. No one is a saint every day of his or her life.

May is the month where college and university graduates listen to commencement speeches about what they need to be aware of as they take their shinny new degrees into the “real world.” I like listening to these speeches because they provide self-motivation and memories that one may have forgotten during their own graduation from school. Nostalgia sometimes gets the best of me and I cry like a baby, missing the good ol’ days of less responsibility. Other times I find great inspiration…

There is this one speech titled “This is water” by David Foster Wallace given to the graduating class of 2005 at Kenyon College. The whole speech is relatable and poetic. He draws you into the world of “reality” and gives you the option of changing your thought process.
“You graduating seniors do not yet have any clue what ‘Day In/ Day Out’ really means,” David says.  I, to this day, still do not have any clue either, but what I do know is that people do fall into a routine. Sometimes this routine is good like exercising every other day, but other routine habits can be as bad as drinking till you puke every Friday Happy Hour. The speech reminds you that routine causes you to lose sight of others around you as you focus on things that only affect you. When driving to work, you may get frustrated with the person driving slowly in your lane even though you are half an hour early to work. If you are standing in the checkout line at the grocery store, you might think poorly of the woman yelling at her crying baby. And, walking down the city sidewalk you pass a begging homeless person as if they are just part of the concrete scenery. This is not a nagging spiel for you to stop being frustrated with traffic, or hold your tongue, or give more money to the homeless. David’s speech, however, is asking you to remember that you have the knowledge and the FREEDOM to change your habit. Don’t let yourself fall into an ignorant cycle of ‘Day In/Day Out.’ We are smarter than goldfish wondering, “What the hell is water?”

This is Water