Kenyon Address Commencement Essay Reponse

         In a way, I agree with what David Foster is saying. We as humans allow ourselves to conform to what is in the world, instead of following what is truly in our hearts. When he describes us as being the center of attention, it almost makes it seem like all humans are always selfish, all the time. I do not necessarily agree with that because there are some people who have an ounce of compassion towards other people. But I understand where he means that humans set aside their needs to conform to society.

            I think is a fair argument, besides the comment about humans always being self-centered. There are some people in the world that are not like that and care about other people. But his fundamental thoughts are accurate for the majority of the world because we do not realize it, until someone points in out.

            For me, I honestly believe that a lot of the things I do, act and think are in favor of society because I do not want to feel weird or looked at as crazy. My freedom of thinking and believing what I want, especially my desires are put on hold to attend to society’s needs. I actually do not even realize that I’m doing it. It all comes back to power and how I have to get rid of it is by controlling myself.

            I would like to engage in the choice by following my heart and what I want to do. It is interesting how not just me, but everyone is subjected to power and controlling thoughts in a cynical way. We tend to stay in the comfort of wanting to be controlled in power and money. I discovered that I pretty much go through life being controlled through words, thoughts, actions and peer pressure. I agree the freedom takes time and patience because it does not happen overnight. The discipline like Foster says is special because it’s a gift.

            The clapping seems like a way acknowledge what he is talking about. The people might understand what he is talking about but might not be processing it the way he is. See, everyone interprets things differently. The clapping could be a clear understanding of saying to Foster, “You know, you are right.  Most humans conform to what society wants and not to what I want.” Clapping to be polite is also shown as a sign of encouragement, but also a way of agreeing to the fundamentals that are true in society today.