Oh! The Places You'll Go

Lately i have been thinking about the book that Tracey and my tutor gave me when i left St Pats - Oh! The Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss. 

When i was getting ready to graduate people said to me about how different my life would be, and how i would never see most of the people from school ever again. 

I brushed it off, knowing they were wrong. My life will be the same in the new year as it was in grade 12. The same friends, the same places to hang out, the same hopes and dreams. Yes, we would be at Uni instead of College, but really, how much of a change could it be? 

We laughed off the people who assured us that they haven't seen some of their friends since the day they graduated - what fools! This will never happen to us. Our friendships too precious, our bonds too strong.

I again laughed at the people who told me that life goes by incredible quickly and if you are not careful it will pass you by completely! I thought myself too aware to let this happen.

Teachers, parents, friends and family promised us a life ahead filled with endless possibilities, countless opportunities and lots of FUN! ... 

Dr. Seuss tells us this too, and his wording is perfect.

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.

I thought about where i am going in life, and what i want to do. I thought about my friends and how they will always be there and we will do this all together.


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.

Somehow things have become completely different overnight... Friends moved away, people changed and time is going faster than ever. Suddenly the people who were my best friends have become little more than mere acquaintances in the street. And the faces of the kids i smiled to in the corridor, that i vowed to remember forever, have become nothing more than distant memories. 

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.

There has been a shift and life is now incredibly different. The tectonic plates in my little world have shifted and suddenly everything is off balance, and i am working to put it right again - this time on my own. Trying new things and walking down 'streets that are not marked' feeling that i had no places to go.

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?


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.


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!

And then somehow the planets align, and I have found a balance between Uni and Tafe, and i am enjoying and am happy with both... I have made some new friends and things really are fun! I am thinking about my hopes and dreams and am looking forward to working towards fulfilling them.



There is fun to be done! There are points to be scored. There are games to be won. 


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


Step with care and great tact and remember that Life’s a Great Balancing Act.

Of course there is still that dull ache for the familiar - the comfort and routine of St Pats and the easy friendships that were there. Life was simple, and almost everything handed out on silver platters. 

The ache to fit in and to compete with others has now disappeared. There is great comfort in the feeling that i can be my complete self and that others don't judge or ridicule. People accept that each of us are unique and celebrate this. Things in that regard have become simple and clear. 

It has been easy to doubt that i can't do the things i dream about (photography), but when i doubt i turn back to Dr. Seuss and remember the words that were written and somehow they apply to me and remind me that life is moving on, whether i like it or not. 

And it is just wonderful and fun and yuck and happy and sad and crazy and fast and slow and awesome all at once. 
And i am finally on the road that makes me feel like that is ok, and that maybe, just maybe, with a little altering and adapting of myself, all of my hopes and dreams really can come true.  



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!


(words from Dr. Seuss' book found Here. The order was changed to suit the purpose of this blog post.)