I just listened to “This is Water,” the commencement speech that David Foster Wallace delivered to Kenyon College, the class of 2005. I didn’t know what it would be, and I didn’t feel that I connected with every word, but it was pretty great. Of course it was; it was David Foster Wallace. You can listen to it here, if you are so inclined. If you would rather just read it, I found a transcript as well.
He spends a bit of time on what freedom really is, and then he says something that I’ve been turning over in my mind. It’s such a great quote, I decided I would share it here. As a belated Independence Day offering.
“The really important kind of freedom involves attention, and awareness, and discipline, and effort, and being able truly to care about other people and to sacrifice for them, over and over, in myriad petty little unsexy ways, every day.”
I am a writer, ceramic artist, knitter, and stepmom. As a playwright, I had six short plays produced in showcases and festivals in Manhattan, Salt Lake City, and Austin. My full-length play, Locking Doors, was presented by Wordsmith Theatre Company in The New Lab Theatre (University of Utah) in 2005. I co-wrote a teleplay titled “Thank God I’m Atheist” which won the 2015 “No God But Funny” contest founded by the Center for Inquiry. My short nonfiction essay, “It’s Coming Down,” was published by the online literary magazine Halfway Down the Stairs. My essay "The Red Rock Chronicles" was published in Contemporary West magazine. I currently work in pharmaceuticals professionally and write recreationally, but dream of making the transition to write professionally and do pharmaceuticals recreationally. I am a Utah native and live in Salt Lake City with my family and our Goldendoodle. I am working on a collection of humorous non-fiction essays and a second full-length play.
Follow me at:
rachelclewis.com
@rachel_lewis_ut (Twitter)
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