One day this week I went to read my students a book during the read aloud. I hadn’t thought about what I was going to read them, so I pulled a book from the Dr. Seuss bin. The book I ended up pulling was ‘Oh the Places you’ll Go.” Of course I’ve read this book plenty of times as I’ve been working with children for years. However, that particular day this book hit me right where I was. I felt the words from the pages of this book in a new way. The book is pretty long, so of course some of my antsy first graders checked out, while others continued to give a thumbs up page after page. By the end of the book, I was excited.

Oh the Places You’ll Go may be a children’s book, but it’s powerful to say the least. It speaks about the journey of life and encourages readers to continue to move forward in order to reach a place of success. Regardless of what is going on around you, you have to keep walking. This book displays the possibilities in life when you make the decision to move despite the “hang ups and bang ups that will happen to you.”

It then goes on to say what happens when we sit around and wait for things to come our way. Nothing ever happens to those who sit and wait. We have to make up in our minds that in order to get to a place of success, we must to continue to walk. As I thought about this, the song Walking Shoes by Mali Music came to mind, this verse in particular, “Always waiting for something good to find you. But if it don’t come, what are you gonna do. And that’s why I’m waking.” Waiting for something that may never come doesn’t produce anything. We have to continue to move forward in order for something to happen. Sometimes we may not know all that’s ahead of us, but the path leads to something great. Things we can’t even imagine. When you step out on faith and make the effort, you’ll meet up with all of the greatness that’s in store for you.

One of my favorite portions of the book, that pretty much sums it up for me is:
“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 foget 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 3/4 percent guaranteed.)

KID, YOU’LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!”

Life will take us through different twists and different turns. We’ll sometimes get mixed up about the path we should take, and the people that are around us. However, we have to be careful where we step. Remembering that we must learn how to balance it all. And at the end, we’ll move mountains!

Because we dared to walk regardless of what was around us, we’ll have great success! Don’t stand and wait around for the things you want in life. Step out on faith, go out and make it happen!