Kenyon Commencement Speech

  

In his commencement address entitled “Kenyon Commencement Speech”, David Foster Wallance advised the Kenyon’s graduating class of 2005 to be strong as there were many challenges ahead of them. He said that it is true that they have learned many things during the course of their studies. Implementing these learnings would not be an easy task as they would be dealing with many people and difficult moments. He reminded them that they would not always get their way because they would not be the center of the world as they might think they were. Other people also are important. He emphasized that they need to learn some control over how and what they think about. This would help them in choosing what they pay attention to and to choose how they construct meaning from their life experiences.

School days are like theory periods, when one learns all the techniques and skills required to make things work. When one eventually finishes studying, then it would be time to implement everything one learned and to practice all the skills that they have acquired. This is not as simple as it sounds because one will be dealing with different people with different personalities. It is not possible to control these people like robots because they also have their feelings and the freedom that you have. They also want things to work out for them, just as I do for myself.

Five years ago, when I completed my initial training as a religious, I was sent to a new community to work there as the school Bursar. This was a time to implement all that I had learned. I had figure out in my head how I would cope in this new environment and practice all what I had been taught. It was not as simple as I had thought. I had to learn how to balance my work and my relationships with people I lived and worked with. Adjusting to this new environment and new job was so stressful for me at the beginning. Attending to so many people and their requests, being conscious of making many silly mistakes and doing some extra curriculum activities in the school clouded my mind. Gradually, I began to adjust and I was able to implement the skills I had learned during the course of my studies.

I really agree with Wallace because theory and practices are two difference things. It is enough to learn something in abstract, but to make them real is where the problem lies. I had to make a choice either to be happy or to be miserable because things did not always work out the way I would have wanted them. Life is always presenting us choices. What to choose does not depend solely on us, but everyone around us should be taken into account while deciding on the things to do.