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In Christina Baker Kline's

"Taking My Son to College, Where Technology Has Replaced Serendipity," she acknowledges the benefits of technology, but wonders what we lose as a society. Specifically, she laments her son may miss chance encounters with people because smartphones provide so much information that it negates the need to engage with people around us.

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In David Foster Wallace's commencement address to Kenyon College graduates, he talks about needing to try and acknowledge the circumstances of the people around you. It is too easy to get wrapped up in your own bubble and focus solely on what's going on in your life. In the image, the wealthy girls don't give the begging man a second look as she is not thinking about what he may have had to go through. Instead, she is probably worried about herself. Even though she might never know the mans story, Wallace says that the girl should try to see the world through the man's eyes and be compassionate.

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To me, this picture does a great job at capturing the ideas laid out in Wallace's commencement address. In the speech, Wallace explains how everyone is in their own personal bubble and don't think about other people's struggles or issues. We tend to believe that we individually are at the center of the universe and everything/everyone is in OUR way. This way of thinking is natural and the default setting, but we shouldn't think like this. It's easy not to notice what others are going through and to solely think about your own problems.

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I chose this image to reflect DFW's commencement address because there are many different ways to interpret it that all completely change how you see the image. On one hand the image shows how phones have made us less social and that everyone is solely focused on themselves. On the other hand because we don't know each of these peoples stories or the conditions around the picture being taken, the people could all be overworked and the seemingly monotonous subway ride is the only time that they can truly relax.

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This reflects Wallace’s commencement address because it shows how people live within their own bubble and don’t pay attention to anybody else. This makes them oblivious to other people’s struggles and puts themselves at the center of everything. He asks the students to try and acknowledge other people’s potential struggles as they move into the adult world because if they don’t, they won’t see what’s going on around them.

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In David Foster Wallace's speech he talks about how people default to their own needs, rather than stopping and thinking about what other may be going through. He states that we all live in our own little bubble where we think everything revolves around ourselves. In this image it shows a man on the ground in some sort of pain while people walk around him and judge him my appearance rather than thinking about what he maybe going through. Each person in the image is making assumptions of what the man needs rather than the point Wallace is conveying that they should not just make assumptions and take time out of their own life to see what the man is going through not just guess.

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To me, this picture really captured the meaning of David Foster Wallace’s speech. Throughout the video, he conveys the message that  many of us get so caught up in our own personal bubbles/ our own worlds, that we shut out the lives and experiences of others. This image demonstrates that. Many people in the world are hiding their hardships with a smile, when in reality that is the last thing they want to to. Their lives are filled with pain and suffering, but they put up a facade in public. However, because we are so caught up in our own worlds, we are oblivious to anyone else’s pain but our own. When we could be helping them or showing empathy, we are only focused about ourself.

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DFW’s main idea is how the most obvious, important realities are often the ones that are the most difficult to see and talk about. This image conveys DFW’s main idea because it is of a man that is not noticing the most obvious fact about this women. Instead he is reading from her resume instead of noticing it himself. This image depicts DFW’s main image as it gives an example of an obvious reality that is not noticed right away.

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This image of the homeless man begging for any help and being walked off by people just passing by going to work, walking around the street, etc. reflects DFW's commencement address to the Kenyon College graduates. He talks about how we should try to think beyond ourselves and our issues and not disregard other people's situations and problems that they may be facing. The people walking by will never know the exact situation but stopping to read his message and understand that we are all human that go through ups and downs in our lifetime. We should help and know that this man needs help just like us and how we often ask for help from others; we should be the ones to help those others who ask for help.

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David Foster Wallace’s commencement speech thesis is that being able to choose one’s mindset and their way of looking at life is true freedom and the true value of higher education. Being aware of other people’s situations allows us to be “free.” The image below is a scenario that all of us are familiar with– a rude customer getting frustrated at a waiter. If the customer had changed his mindset to be more patient and understand that perhaps the waiter had a frustrating day, both the customer and the waiter would not be as upset as they are in the picture. Being able to choose the way we view small day to day interactions like these is, according to Wallace, a liberty that comes as a result of higher education.

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The image below demonstrates David Foster Wallace’s theme of empathy in his commencement to Kenyon College students. He talks about the simplicity of quickly judging someone to make his own situation seem like it is worse. But if a person would just dig a little deeper they could give some empathy to another person struggling during difficult times. Maybe that person is going through something substantially worse than you. There is so reason to judge someone right off the bat to make yourself feel a little better. The image below reflects on these ideas, because sometimes two people can seem so different but also both be going through similar hardships.

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David Foster Wallace’s “This is Water” speech conveys how humans naturally tend to put themselves as the center of the universe and doing so they are less empathetic towards others. I chose this photo of a few people on a bus/subway because the lady in the middle is getting frustrated with the men around her. Wallace stated in his speech that rather than only paying attention to their personal needs, he wants us to imagine the pain others are going through and empathize for them. However, Wallace reminds us that difficulty of showing empathy is an easy fix. Next time on the bus ride, do not get heated over little things, but instead smile more and stay aware and present.

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This image reflects David Foster Wallace's speech because it represents someone's mind being meshed with another. It allows for the people to see a different perspective, which is similar to having empathy. In "This is Water," DFW's thesis describes how people can become wrapped up in their own chaotic and tiring lifestyles, and many times, we fail to realize other people face their own obstacles too. When people lose perspective, they fail to empathize with others and do not think about how their own actions could change another person's day. DFW's speech was very eye-opening into the constant, every day rush of life and how simply thinking differently can change everything.

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DFW communicates the power of choice that everyone faces each day in his commencement speech to Kenyon College students. He talks about the danger of our default setting and the effect that it has on our outlook on life as well as others around us. His speech can clearly be applied to the toilet paper issue throughout America today. The image below shows how operating on a default setting of greed can lead to a lack of resources for people in need. What people have failed to see in their endeavors for toilet paper is the freedom they have in choosing the needs of others over their selfish desire to have more than enough. The picture is a clear representation of the default setting that most of society is set to and highlights how unaware most are of the other choices they have.

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David Foster Wallace’s speech brings up the idea of how people think on a regular basis. Wallace calls it people’s “natural default setting”. People immediately alway think of themselves not about the people around them and what they may be going through. The image of a business man thinking only about himself while the people in the background are struggling to get out of his thoughts expresses the idea of selfishness. The people in the background do not matter to the man in the foreground. The man believes everything should be about him because he does not know these people so why think about them more then himself. However, the man does not know anything about these people and it might help everyone out to realize that they may be struggling too.

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In DFW’s speech, he talks about how self absorbed people can be in their day to day lives and how people never stop to think about person who they see as being in their way and empathize. The image conveys empathy which relates to what DFW said about realizing that everyone around you also has similar difficulties and obstacles. When people become more aware of what is going on around them, they can break the boredom cycle.

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In his Kenyon College commencement address, David Foster Wallace describes a different type of thinking where people exit their personal bubble and put themselves in another person’s shoes. These people are oblivious to their surroundings and believe that every person and everything revolves around them. The image below represents a person in their own personal bubble. Even though this way of thinking is easy, Wallace begs the Kenyon College graduates to burst it and have empathy for the people around them.

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In David Wallace’s “This is Water,” he addresses the concept of your “natural default setting.” Wallace talks about how people tend to live in their own bubble without thinking about what others may be dealing with. We also tend to relate how everybody else is acting to ourselves and retaliate simply because they are in a bad mood. What we don’t think about often is why that person is having a bad day. Wallace’s idea is reflected in the image below. Literally, the image depicts a man and woman separated by a glass wall. Yes, they can somewhat see each other, but because the glass wall is not super transparent, they can’t see everything. You see an angry person, but you don’t see what happened to make them angry.

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The image below captures the essence of David Foster Wallace's "This is Water" by  illustrating the skewed and narcissistic worldview that many people hold. Although many think that they work harder and their life is more difficult than everyone around them, nobody can fairly assume anything about others lives and judge them accordingly. People tend to default to the thought that we are above those around us and assume that they should act according to our beliefs and wants. We should always assume that others are struggling as much as us and give them the benefit of the doubt. This image acts as a medium through which we can become self-aware of our selfishness and change.

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I think Wallace’s message in his address was about the fact that people are more than one action while you are watching them or how they appear, and that people have unseeable circumstances that make them who they are. I also think he encourages the listener to accept these circumstances because they are not as different as they might seem. This photo of a rainy city street scene shows people walking with umbrellas to their destinations. The man in the middle wearing the navy jacket and pants looks to be walking clumsily. For many passers by, this photo would be what they see in a glance up from the ground or their phone, and they would portray this man as a clumsy person for how he appears to be walking. However, this may not be true. The reality of a glance and a following assumption of how an entire person acts and lives is what Wallace challenges the listener to avoid, and thinking about and relating to others as complex beings, not on quick assumptions.

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This image of a normal man looking at a woman with a box on her head reflects Wallace's idea as it symbolizes a human's mind, showing how humans can be blind to the rest of the world as they are fixed in their own thoughts. The woman is masked by a box, which represents the mentally constructed divide between other humans in the man's mind. He is oblivious to what is under the box, and his view is limited only to himself. The reality of a human's mentality is that they spend much time pondering about their own lives and overlook what might be going on in another's. The man can either leave the woman be with the box on her head separating her from his thoughts, or he can unveil the box to understand what is happening in her life.

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In David Wallace’s “This is Water Speech”, he addresses the concept of “natural default setting”. This idea discusses how people’s everyday lives can be taken over by their subconscious and just put on repeat. It creates a routine not only for your actions but for your thoughts as well. You end up constantly being annoyed by bad traffic or people at the store. Wallace asks you to step out of that routine and think about other people instead of the bubble your subconscious has made for you. You have to consider what could possibly be going on in other people’s lives and remember that you are not the only one in this world. This image represents humans living and working in their own bubbles, completely focused on themselves. They are not looking around or considering others. They are just trying to get through their work and stay in their routine.

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Every person reaches their own conclusions when they see people who are not like them. Society tends to take out their feelings on other people and they judge people even if they don't know each other. However, they do not know who they are judging. they  could be judging someone who is trying to survive an abusive house or a devastating loss. Everyone has their own story/ experiences, therefore society should not judge them or take their aggressions out on the people around them because it may help them feel better in the moment but then they may regret it afterwards. In a moment of panic, stress, or impatience, people should not be angry toward others because everyone is in the same dilemma and acting in an aggressive manner does not achieve anything. Adults forget who they are and who they are talking to when we are going from place to place. In the midst of all the frustration, people choose who they are and how they want to act.  However, they live in their own bubbles, oblivious to the world and feelings around them. They do not notice when they have hurt someone or notice that everyone is just like them.

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The main idea of DFW’s commencement speech “This is Water” is to be more empathetic in your everyday life and try to understand everyone’s situation. From the example that DFW gave us in his speech in the supermarket, the lady at the front of the line is having trouble with her husband and her child, however the protagonist of the story does not seem to worry about what is going on with her or even attempt to help, they just judge the person based on what they are seeing occur. I believe this image represents this idea because it shows that people get so caught up in their own world that they do not take a moment to look around them and see what is going on and try to understand certain situations for themselves. DFW uses the word “routine” to connect to a person’s daily life, and it easily represents the theme that everyone is trying to do their own routine, and people can get in your way, but you should not think of it like that. You should think of it as just another person’s story that you get to hear.

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In David Wallace’s  “This Is Water,” he addresses that people constrain themselves from others and have less empathy for others. This image shows a homeless man asking for money, while all of the people around move farther away or look in a different direction. These people are showing no empathy for this man. Nor are they showing respect for him by all looking in different directions. These people are living in bubbles, thinking everything revolves around them, and that they control everything that happens in their lives. Another example of people looking down upon people is a being mean towards a waiter if their food is not correct; these people cannot control what other people's actions are but are still blamed for these actions.

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Response

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My idea