As we approach the end of another school year, many students are gearing up for graduation. Whether you’re about to cross the stage to receive your diploma or watching from the sidelines, these quotes about graduation will give you something to think about.
From Aristotle to Albert Einstein, these famous thinkers have a lot to say about this life milestone. Check out these 47 graduation quotes that will inspire and motivate you as you celebrate your academic achievements.
Let the quotes begin!
1) “Accept responsibility for your life. Know that it is you who will get you where you want to go, no one else.” – Les Brown
2) “If you don’t go after what you want, you’ll never have it. If you don’t ask, the answer is always no. If you don’t step forward, you’re always in the same place.” – Nora Roberts
3) “All those adults that you used to think were in charge and knew what they were doing? It turns out they don’t have all the answers. A lot of them aren’t even asking the right questions. So, if the world’s going to get better, it’s going to be up to you.” – Barack Obama
4) “You already have everything you need inside of you right now, today.” – Alicia Keys
5) “An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.” – Benjamin Franklin
6) “There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.” – C.S. Lewis
7) “The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.” – Michael Altschuler
8) “Don’t be afraid. Be focused. Be determined. Be hopeful. Be empowered.” – Michelle Obama
9) “Change takes courage.” – Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Graduation quotes for high school and college students.
10) “Cherish your visions and your dreams as they are the children of your soul, the blueprints of your ultimate achievements.” – Napoleon Hill
11) “I’m continually trying to make choices that put me out of my own comfort zone. As long as you’re uncomfortable it means you’re growing.” – Ashton Kutcher
12) “Do all the other things, the ambitious things—travel, get rich, get famous, innovate, lead, fall in love, make and lose fortunes…but as you do, to the extent that you can, err in the direction of kindness.” – George Saunders
13) “Education makes a people easy to lead, but difficult to drive: easy to govern, but impossible to enslave.” – Henry Peter Brougham
14) “Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” – Will Rogers
15) “The future is always uncertain, but we who celebrate what you have done, who celebrate all of your achievements, we are certain of one thing on this day: You will not let us down.” – Tom Hanks
16) “You don’t go to university so you can punch a clock. You go to university so you can be in a position to make a difference.” – Janet Napolitano
17) “When you have a dream, you’ve got to grab it and never let go.” – Carol Burnett
18) “If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way.” – James Freeman Clarke
19) “Your imagination is your preview of life’s coming attractions.” – Albert Einstein
Graduation quotes for the road of life.
20) “Instruction ends in the schoolroom, but education ends only with life.” – Frederick W. Robertson
21) “Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.” – Minor Myers, Jr.
22) “You can’t do it alone. Be open to collaboration. Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you. Spend a lot of time with them and it will change your life.” – Amy Poehler
23) “Life is my college. May I graduate well, and earn some honors!” – Louisa May Alcott
24) “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” – Gandhi
25) “There may be days when you’ll say to yourself, ‘I can’t. I literally can’t even.’ But you can! You can even!” – Katie Couric
Graduation quotes by Oprah Winfrey
26) “You must have some vision for your life. Even if you don’t know the plan, you have to have a direction in which you choose to go.” – Oprah Winfrey
27) “You get in life what you have the courage to ask for.” – Oprah Winfrey
28) “Follow your passion. It will lead you to your purpose.” – Oprah Winfrey
29) “There is no passion to be found in playing small, in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.” – Nelson Mandela
Graduation quotes for a son or daughter.
30) “It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.” – William Shakespeare
31) “All our dreams can come true…If we have the courage to pursue them.” – Walt Disney
32) “The reality is on most matters, somebody is going to make the decision – so why not let it be you?” – Kamala Harris
33) “There are no regrets in life – just lessons.” – Jennifer Aniston
34) “That clock you hear is the sound of your own heart. Sink your teeth into this life, and don’t get let go.” – Lin-Manuel Miranda
35) “Success doesn’t rush. The greatest reward is the journey.” – Jeff Moore
36) “Your life is your story, and the adventure ahead of you is the journey to fulfill your own purpose and potential.” – Kerry Washington
37) “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
38) “There is nothing more beautiful than finding your course as you believe you bob aimlessly in the current. Wouldn’t you know that your path was there all along, waiting for you to knock, waiting for you to become. This path does not belong to your parents, your teachers, your leaders, or your lovers. Your path is your character defining itself more and more everyday like a photograph coming into focus.” – Jodie Foster
39) “Understand that one day you will have the power to make a difference, so use it well.” – Mindy Kaling
Wishing congratulations with graduation quotes…
40) “What we learn with pleasure we never forget.” – Alfred Mercier
41) “Purpose is an essential element of you. It is the reason you are on the planet at this particular time in history. Your very existence is wrapped up in the things you are here to fulfill. Whatever you choose for a career path, remember the struggles along the way are only meant to shape you for your purpose.” – Chadwick Boseman
42) “When we show up, act boldly, and practice the best ways to be wrong, we fail forward. No matter where we end up, we’ve grown from where we began.” – Stacey Abrams
43) “Wherever you go, go with all your heart.” – Confucius
44) “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” – Arleen Lorrance
45) “Yes, there will be pitfalls, mountains, and glass ceilings, but you’re going to get across it.” – Debbie Allen
46) “You are educated. Your certification is in your degree. You may think of it as the ticket to the good life. Let me ask you to think of an alternative. Think of it as your ticket to change the world.” – Tom Brokaw
47) “Your education is a dress rehearsal for a life that is yours to lead.” – Nora Ephron
I hope you enjoyed these inspirational quotes!
Please share these graduation quotes with your friends and family.
