David Foster Wallace (Infinite Jest) was an American author whose work is what you would describe as "Important". Meaning that it was filled with ideas of such preponderance that it could occasionally reveal some truth hidden deep inside the reader that could change them completely.
Yeah, he was simply that good.
In 2005 he gave a commencement address to the graduating class of Kenyon College in Ohio where he laid down those lofty ideas of truth to a group of Seniors who were, most likely, filled with the optimism and excitement that only those who are on the precipice of "Real Life" can feel or appreciate and who were not yet able to see that the road before them was pot-holed and battered (that realization comes to you only after you have been walking on it for a while).
He did not tell them these things to scare them out of that place of optimistic delight or to showcase what a jaded and bitter future lay before them, but to tell them they had the power to choose what kind of life they could have, that education and knowledge and choice are all wrapped up together and we have the ability to move past our own needs and desires and instead, become empathetic to those around us.
It is probably one of the most beautiful and life-altering speeches ever given.
And thankfully, the film making-team of The Glossary has managed to create a moving tribute to Wallace's words (which were tragically cut short when he ended his life in 2008 after battling severe, mind-fuck depression for most of his life) that capture them perfectly.
After the break is the video as well as a link to his full speech.
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