Required Watching/Reading for All Frequent Travelers: “This is Water” by David Foster Wallace

This is probably less relevant for people who have the pleasure to fly business or first class exclusively, but for the rest of us frequent travelers who are sometimes (or often (or always)) in the back of the plane, I highly recommend reading/watching “This is Water” by David Foster Wallace. Actually, scratch that, this should be required reading/watching for everyone, regardless of who you are. The text comes from a commencement speech that he gave to Kenyon College in 2005.

Essentially, you shouldn’t ever be the person who’s like “do you know who I am”. In spite of all evidence to the contrary, the world does not revolve around you, and people do not exist merely to stand in your way. You have the ability to reframe how you think, and you can choose to reinterpret the world around you. As I’ve internalized this change in perspective, flying has become infinitely more enjoyable, which is part of the reason why I travel so much more than I used to.