These Graduation Quotes Will Hit Home With the Class of 2024
It's hard to describe the bittersweet feeling you're hit with once you reach graduation. Kacey Musgraves said it best: "Is there a word for the way that I'm feeling tonight? Happy and sad at the same time..." Now, the country song isn't necessarily about graduating, but it gets the point across nonetheless. 😂 Graduation, whether it be from high school, college, or any other program, is something worth celebrating. It's also a time for family and friends to look at just how much you've accomplished in your educational career. When Ree watched her youngest daughter graduate, Paige, graduate, she had some choice words: "Those tears were going to come no matter what." And you know what? That's okay. If you, or someone you know is graduating this year, this list of graduation quotes encapsulates of the perfect feelings.
A lot of these quotes can double as graduation Instagram caption ideas. Each and every one of the sentimental, happy quotes and uplifting quotes compiled here will inspire you, delight you, and leave you laughing or reaching for a box of tissues. Choose from beloved quotes like this one from Eleanor Roosevelt: "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." There are also graduation quotes for daughters and graduation quotes for sons by actors, athletes, singers, revolutionaries, and more. Whichever you land on, you're sure to make your grad's day—or even brighten their whole year.
Matt Bondi
“Persistence can change failure into extraordinary achievement.”
Steve Prefontaine
“To give any less than your best is to sacrifice a gift.”
E. E. Cummings
“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.”
Michael Jordan
“I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
Mindy Kaling
“Understand that one day you will have the power to make a difference, so use it well.”
Lin-Manuel Miranda
“That clock you hear is the sound of your own heart. Sink your teeth into this life, and don’t get let go.”
Jackson Browne
“Opportunity dances with those who are already on the dance floor.”
Lily Tomlin
“The road to success is always under construction.”
Helen Mirren
“It's really important to remember that like a hangover, neither triumphs nor disasters last forever.”
Sandra Bullock
“You have to dance a little bit before you step out into the world each day, because it changes the way you walk.”
Wayne Gretzky
“You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.”
Kerry Washington
“You and you alone are the only person who can live the life that writes the story that you were meant to tell.”
Kristian Kan
“In response to those who say to stop dreaming and face reality, I say keep dreaming and make reality.”
Conan O'Brien
“I am here to tell you that whatever you think your dream is now, it will probably change. And that's okay.”
Oscar Wilde
“You can never be overdressed or overeducated.”
Frederick W. Robertson
“Instruction ends in the schoolroom, but education ends only with life.”
B.B. King
“The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.”
Helen Keller
“The highest result of education is tolerance.”
John Dewey
“Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.”
Benjamin Franklin
“An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.”
Jennifer Aniston
“There are no regrets in life. Just lessons.”
Joseph Addison
“What sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to the human soul.”
Dr. Seuss
“Kid, you’ll move mountains.”
Janet Napolitano
“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.”
Vincent Van Gogh
“If you hear a voice within you say “you cannot paint,” then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced.”
Leonardo DiCaprio
“If you can do what you do best and be happy, you are further along in life than most people.”
Ryan Gosling
“I've learned it's important not to limit yourself. You can do whatever you really love to do, no matter what it is.”
Nelson Mandela
“Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world.”
Ian Brennan
“Be the hardest working person you know. Because if you’re not, someone else will be.”
Oprah
“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.”
Octavia Spencer
“It’s your turn to choose and define what success means to you. Now, others will try to define it for you, but yours is the only voice that matters.”
Lady Gaga
"You are the seeds that will grow into a new and different forest that is far more beautiful and loving than the one we live in today."
Tom Hanks
"Your rising from bed every morning will give fear its chance to grow stronger just as it will afford faith its chance to blossom."
Dalai Lama
"Despite difficulties, always keep optimism."
Thomas Edison
"The three great essentials to achieve anything worthwhile are, first, hard work; second, stick-to-itiveness; third, common sense."
Dr. Seuss
"You're off to great places.
Today is your day.
Your mountain is waiting.
Go, get on your way!"
Lin-Manuel Miranda
"This act of choosing—the stories we tell versus the stories we leave out—will reverberate across the rest of your life."
Maria Shriver
"Before you go out and press that fast-forward button, I'm hoping, I'm praying, that you'll have the courage to first press the pause button."
Debbie Millman
"Start now. Not 20 years from now, not two weeks from now. Now."
Beverly Sills
"There are no shortcuts to any place worth going."
Babe Ruth
"It's hard to beat a person who never gives up."
Maya Angelou
"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude."
Alicia Keys
"Be unafraid to be completely you, and accept all those other individuals that you meet as they are."
Aristotle
"Happiness depends upon ourselves."
Tom Bodett
"They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world: Someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for."
Albert Einstein
"A calm and modest life brings more happiness than the pursuit of success combined with constant restlessness."
Selena Gomez
"It's okay not to know what to do with the rest of your life."
Jesse Owens
"Find the good. It's all around you. Find it, showcase it and you'll start believing in it."
Tim Cook
"Call upon your grit. Try something."
Michelle Obama
"You can't make decisions based on fear and the possibility of what might happen."
Kristen Bell
"When you respect the idea that you are sharing the earth with other humans, and when you lead with your nice foot forward, you’ll win, every time. It might not be today, it might not be tomorrow, but it comes back to you when you need it."
Jennifer Garner
"Fight for what makes you optimistic about the world. Find it, insist on it, dig into it, go after it."
Toni Morrison
"From my point of view, which is that of a storyteller, I see your life as already artful, waiting just waiting and ready for you to make it art."
Tina Fey
"Follow your fear."
Henry David Thoreau
"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined."
Neil Gaiman
"Now go, and make interesting mistakes, make amazing mistakes, make glorious and fantastic mistakes. Break rules. Leave the world more interesting for you being here. Make good art."
Steve Jobs
"Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition."
Nora Ephron
"Your education is a dress rehearsal for a life that is yours to lead."
Denzel Washington
"Fall forward. Every failed experiment is one step closer to success. You've got to take risks."
Dr. Seuss, 'Oh, the Places You'll Go'
"And then things start to happen,
don't worry. Don't stew.
Just go right along.
You'll start happening too."
Kerry Washington
"Your life is your story, and the adventure ahead of you is the journey to fulfill your own purpose and potential."
Eleanor Roosevelt
"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."
Anatole France
"To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream, not only plan, but also believe."
Oprah Winfrey
"Your calling isn't something that somebody can tell you about. It's what you feel. It's a part of your life force. It is the thing that gives you juice. The thing that are you supposed to do. And nobody can tell you what that is. You know it inside yourself."
Shonda Rhimes
"You don’t have a job? Get one. Any job! Don’t sit at home waiting for the magical opportunity. Do something until you can do something else."
Sheryl Sandberg
"Fortune does favor the bold, and I promise that you will never know what you’re capable of unless you try."
Louisa May Alcott
"Life is my college. May I graduate well, and earn some honors."
Jodie Foster
"Your path is your character defining itself more and more every day, like a photograph coming into focus."
Arianna Huffington
"It's wisdom that will put all the inevitable failures and rejections and disappointments and heartbreaks into perspective."
Martin Luther King Jr.
"Intelligence plus character—that is the goal of true education."
Gabrielle Giffords
"Be bold, be courageous, be your best."
Sandra Day O'Connor
"Be aware that even before you have reached your ultimate professional destination, if you always strive for excellence, you can and should have a substantial impact on the world in which you live."
Arthur Ashe
"Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can."
Katie Couric
"There may be days when you’ll say to yourself, ‘I can’t. I literally can’t even.’ But you can! You can even!"
Whoopi Goldberg
"If you’re willing to stand for what you believe in... you won’t need advice from me, because you will be able to handle whatever comes."
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