From Kenya to Mt. Pleasant: Cogitations to Novice Teachers

Commencement ceremonies are typically littered with congratulatory remarks, cries of accomplishments, and parroting that oozes optimism, but in his “Kenyon Commencement

Speech,” David Foster Wallace takes a different approach. Instead of goading graduates to change the world, he gives practical advice on changing themselves for the better by utilizing the new abilities that result from a fulfilling liberal arts education. Wallace explains the importance of employing one’s education in conscious thought to develop a genuine awareness of the world around us. He argues that humans are naturally inclined to think of the world as if we are its absolute center (201). He acknowledges that, in one sense, this way of thinking is correct, because all experiences in which we take part must come through us personally as direct intermediaries (201). However, Wallace elaborates that we must make conscious decisions to change this self-centeredness in order to avoid a bleak life. Innate or otherwise, self-centered behavior can cause competition that results in a them-versus-me mentality, which may cast the world as the habitat of adversaries. Being able to shirk the natural proclivity to think solely of ourselves as the subjects and objects of the world is what he considers the primary purpose of true liberal arts education. In my own experience, I have come to understand what Wallace means: we must make a conscious choice to embrace the world and all of its parts to move past our hardwired egocentrism, which in turn, can make us happy. As a new teacher, this lesson could have saved me much distress, and I urge my fellow novice educators to take it to heart.

Between 2010 and 2012, I lived on the outskirts of a military base...

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...ly aligned to my interests or, at least, convenience. But I must do my best to mitigate this self-centeredness. I take solace, though, in respecting my strengths and acknowledging my weaknesses, self-centeredness being among the many. I can avoid the trap of falling back into my old way of thinking, because

I am confident in the liberal arts education I have received: the ability to see from a perspective other than an egocentric one. In regard to this, Wallace might offer support by asserting,

“Learning how to think really means learning how to exercise some control over how and what you think” (202). So long as I keep others in my thoughts and avoid becoming polarized to their existence, I can avoid this trap—this allure to see from only the myopic perspective of myself. If

I can do this, I will not be a fish who is unaware of the water in which he swims.