David Foster Wallace Commencement Address

In David Foster's commencement speech at Kenyon College in 2005, his idea is that life consists of fundamental choices that lie entirely with the human person and allow them to engage the world differently. I think his idea is correct. In the speech he says we all have self- center-nests in us and that we all believe the world revolves around us.

That mindset that we all have that makes us think that everything revolves around us is the main reason why he says fundamental choices lie entirely on the human person. Now in the speech David went over my head a lot of times with some of his analogies for proving his idea on life. But, I kinda understood what he was talking about when he talked about the selfishness in us.

I don't believe his full idea is credible in my opinion, but his idea about selfishness is a good one. I don't believe it is a credible idea because everyone is not going to have the same experience in life and some people will object to his ideas. You can tell in the speech that David feels that their is nothing else to live for in his life and that he was depressed. As a result of this I think people in the audience didn't connect with his speech because they were laughing at parts that were not needed.

Honestly I engage these choice's  usually by going with my "gut" feeling and not really thinking outside of my actions. Some of my  choices are how I feel at the time  and some choices I am forced to do. I never really thought about David's point of view of choices so his idea is new to me.

I think people clap when David is insulting them for many reasons. I think the main reason is because they don't really fully understand what he is saying and they are just clapping to clap. Another reason might be that they don't realize that he is not only insulting them but the world. I could understand this, because I too have clapped during a speech, but did not actually listen to the speech. I believe this is indicative of the audience not fully listening.

Blog Post 4

Act 1: Caligula Play

1. Camus demonstrates Caligula heart by manipulating him.

2. Those in power view Caligula as lifeless and evil  because he rejects everybody. I agree with this view because if someone has a bad attitude and is mean, you might view them as lifeless.

Describing an object in my house:

A computer is one of many objects in my house. I would describe it as something that affects many things in my life and essential hardware that is a necessitate. Without it I would not be able to complete assignments in a consistent manner and I would have to use the library down the street from my house to write papers. Other factors of the computer include getting current information before it goes on television and watching videos/listening to music. Also the computer allows me to read messages and help me receive emails. In conclusion there are many factors of the computer and it has become a necessitate to our daily lives.

What will make me happy?

              In my life many things make me happy. I'm happy when I listen to my favorite artist or hear my favorite song on the radio. I'm happy when I get a new pair of shoes or clothing. I'm happy when I watch my favorite basketball and football team on t.v. I'm happy when I watch my favorite television show on TV. I happy when I  get a good grade for school. I'm happy when i wake up really early for school and have a good breakfast because that doesn't happen that much. I'm happen when I play games with friends. I'm happy that I have two parents that love me and support me with everything I do. I happy that I have a big brother that I can always count on to give me good advice on any problem or issue I'm having.
              Also I have things in my life that will make me happy when I accomplish them. The biggest of these is graduating right now. Its graduating because for four years that is what I have been working toward and to finally graduate will be a very happy moment for me. Also what would me happy when I accomplish it is getting my drivers license. This would make me very happy because as got older i got tired of having my parents drive me around to places. To get my license would be great because then I drive myself wherever I want to go. In my life my happiness is limitless and even when I'm faced with a bad situation, I always try to stay positive and be happy even when things don't seem to go my way. Usually when I do my hobbies like play sports or video games, it takes my mind off something bad that may have happened and I feel happy again.

            Also accomplishing my dream of becoming a sports analyst on ESPN or for the NFL network would make me happy because I watched these broadcasts ever since I was young and I always thought I could do it. I'm very knowledgeable about sports and I love arguing about sports so being a sports analyst would be a dream come true for me and would make me most happy in the future.

 

Introduction of myself

               My name is Cameron, and I'm a seventeen year old  African American student attending high school. I value many things in my life but the most important thing I value is my family. My family is most valuable to me because I would not be alive today without them and everything I accomplish in my life is to make them proud of me. My religious background is Baptist and I believe God exists and that Jesus Christ is his only son that redeemed the world. I believe religious and cultural backgrounds are important because it will influence the kind of people you interact with and show how diverse you are. What I hope for in life is to always try my best and put my best foot forward with anything I do rather than being lazy and not taking care of my responsibilities.