Well, it’s that time of year again. I suspect someone in your life knows exactly what I’m talking about.

Yep, it’s graduation time … which means it’s time for that great all-purpose graduation gift that operates as a fall-back for when you can’t figure out what else to give the graduate who has everything.

They didn’t have it when I graduated from high school. In fact, despite its popularity, I’d never heard of it before I went looking for a graduation present for some kids in 1995—which is pretty strange, given how long it was the New York Times number one best-seller (not to mention all the other times it sat atop the list since).

Oh, the Places You’ll Go! It was Dr. Suess’s last book published while he was still alive. When I read it, I remember thinking how great it was. Super insightful and well-written. Fun, in that Dr. Seuss-kind-of-way.

But something didn’t quite sit right with me. It looks like a self-help book … but it doesn’t spell out how you can help the self you’re supposed to be self-helping. What am I supposed to do?

The book feels like it has a glaring flaw to me—or at least, a missed opportunity. Dr. Seuss never tells you how to get to all these places you’ll go. All these wonderful places but no road map.

Graduating is an exciting thing, to be sure. But it’s also really scary. Any time you launch from a comfortable place into the unknown, things are most likely going to feel overwhelming. What do I do? Who’s going to take care of me?

A few directions on how to get there would be helpful. But, to be honest, Dr. Seuss doesn’t include a usable map. Indeed, it feels like Dr. Seuss just messes things up more:

You 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 elbows 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 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 [their] mind.

You can get so confused

that you’ll start to race