Oh the places you"ll go

Life has so many ups and downs mixed in with many turn-a-rounds.  I have been preparing for some lessons and suddenly thought of so many fun things I can do with the kids and learn at the same time.  I started thinking, "Oh the fun we will have and remembered this poem by Dr. Seuss.  So I share it with you.

Oh! The Places You’ll Go!
by the incomparable Dr. Seuss

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.

You’re on your own. And you know what you know. 

And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.

You’ll look up and down streets. Look’em over with

care. About some you will say, “I don’t choose to go

there.” With your head full of brains and your shoes

full of feet, you’re too smart to go down a

not-so-good street. 

And you may not find any you’ll want to go down. 

In that case, of course, you’ll head straight out of 

town.  It’s opener there in the wide open air.

Out there things can happen and frequently do to 

people as brainy and footsy as you.

And when things start to happen, don’t worry. 

Don’t stew. Just go right along. You’ll start 

happening too.

Oh! The Places You’ll Go!

You’ll be on your way up!
You’ll be seeing great sights!
You’ll join the high fliers who soar to high heights.

You won’t lag behind, because you’ll have the 

speed. You’ll pass the whole gang and you’ll soon 

take the lead. Wherever you fly, you’ll be best of 

the best. Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

Except when you don’t. Because, sometimes, 

you won’t.

I’m sorry to say so but, sadly, it’s true that Bang-ups

and Hang-ups can happen to you.

You can get all hung up in a prickle-ly perch. 

And your gang will fly on. You’ll be left in a Lurch.

You’ll come down from the Lurch with an unpleasant

bump. And the chances are, then, that you’ll be in a 

Slump.

And when you’re in a Slump, you’re not in for much

fun. Un-slumping yourself is not easily done.

You will come to a place where the streets are not

marked. Some windows are lighted. But mostly 

they’re darked. A place you could sprain both your

elbow and chin! Do you dare to stay out? Do you

dare to go in? How much can you lose? How much

can you win?

And if you go in, should you turn left or right…

or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite?

Or go around back and sneak in from behind? 

Simple it’s not, I’m afraid you will find, for a 

mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.

You can get so confused that you’ll start in to race 

down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace 

and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,

headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.

The Waiting Place…for people just waiting.

Waiting for a train to go or a bus to come, or a plane

to go or the mail to come, or the rain to go or the 

phone to ring, or the snow to snow or waiting 

around for a Yes or No or waiting for their hair to

grow. Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite or waiting for wind to fly 

a kite or waiting around for Friday night or waiting, 

perhaps, for their Uncle Jake or a pot to boil, or a 

Better Break or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants 

or a wig with curls, or Another Chance. 

Everyone is just waiting.

No! That’s not for you!
Somehow you’ll escape all that waiting and staying. 

You’ll find the bright places where Boom Bands are

playing. With banner flip-flapping, once more you’ll 

ride high! Ready for anything under the sky. Ready

because you’re that kind of a guy!

Oh, the places you’ll go! There is fun to be done! 

There are points to be scored. There are games to

be won. And the magical things you can do with 

that ball will make you the winning-est winner of all.

Fame! You’ll be famous as famous can be, with the 

whole wide world watching you win on TV.

Except when they don’t. Because, sometimes, 

they won’t.

I’m afraid that some times you’ll play lonely games 

too.Games you can’t win ‘cause you’ll play against 

you.

All Alone!
Whether you like it or not, Alone will be something 

you’ll be quite a lot.

And when you’re alone, there’s a very good chance 

you’ll meet things that scare you right out of your 

pants. There are some, down the road between 

hither and yon, that can scare you so much you 

won’t want to go on.

But on you will go though the weather be foul. On 

you will go though your enemies prowl. On you 

will go though the Hakken-Kraks howl. Onward up 

many a frightening creek, though your arms may 

get sore and your sneakers may leak. On and on

you will hike. And I know you’ll hike far and face

up to your problems whatever they are.

You’ll get mixed up, of course, as you already know. 

You’ll get mixed up with many strange birds as you 

go.  So be sure when you step. Step with care and 

great tact and remember that Life’s a Great 

Balancing Act.  Just never forget to be dexterous 

and deft. And never mix up your right foot with 

your left.

And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and ¾ percent guaranteed.)

Kid, you’ll move mountains!
So…be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray or

Mordecai Ale Van Allen O’Shea, you’re off to 

Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So…get on your way!