100+ Best Graduation Quotes to Inspire You to Achieve Your Goals

Graduation is a significant life event. Graduation represents many things. It represents advancement, expansion, and transformation. Graduation indicates that you are a more mature being who is ready to embark on a new chapter in your life.
Graduation is an exciting time to celebrate your achievements. It’s time to recognize all of your efforts in furthering your knowledge.

100+ Quotes About Graduation

Here are 65 sets of unique and inspiring Graduation Quotes, all of which, will offer the student who reads them a good boost as they reflect on what they have accomplished and the exciting possibilities of their future, which begins now. The next step is a new journey, which means starting with carrying on with all the learnings, skills upgradation, and memories of the past. So, explore these graduation quotes and choose the one that feels most appropriate for your 2023 graduation.

25 Graduation Day Quotes

1. “The fireworks begin today. Each diploma is a lighted match, each one of you is a fuse.” – Ed Koch

2. “Graduation is an exciting time. It marks both an ending and a beginning; it’s warm memories of the past. and big dreams for the future.”

3. “If you want to be the best, you must do things other people aren’t willing to do.”

4. “Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world right in the eye.” – Helen Keller

5. “Graduation is not the end; it’s the beginning.” -Orrin Hatch

6. “No matter what happens in life, be good to people. Being good to people is a wonderful legacy to leave behind.” –Taylor Swift

7. “The reality is on most matters, somebody is going to make the decision—so why not let it be you?” –Kamala Harris

8. “Your life is your story and the adventure ahead of you is the journey to fulfill your own purpose and potential.” –Kerry Washington

9. “The only thing you can do in this life is pursue your passions, celebrate your bloopers and never stop following your fear.” – Grace Helbig

10. “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” –Eleanor Roosevelt

11. “The old rules are crumbling and nobody knows what the new rules are. So make up your own rules.” – Neil Gaiman

12. “Congratulations on your graduation. No more lectures and tests; that’s beautiful. But get ready for an adventure in job hunting and sweaty interviews.”

13. “To a wonderful young man on his graduation day, you’ve achieved so much and should be very proud. The sky’s the limit. Congratulations!”

14. “Effort and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.” – John F. Kennedy

15. “Keep your face toward the sunshine and shadows will always fall behind you.” –Walt Whitman

16. “Go forth and set the world on fire.” –Ignatius Loyola

17. “The most important thing in life is to stop saying “I wish” and start saying “I will”. –Charles Dickens

18. “Don’t live down to expectations. Go out there and do something remarkable.”- Wendy Wasserstein

19. “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Rive the lube you have imagined.” – Henry David Thoreau

20. “The man who graduates today and stops learning tomorrow is uneducated the day after.” – Newton D. Baker

21. “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.” – Whoopi Goldberg

22. “To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream, not only plan, but also believe.” – Anatole France

23. “Promise me you’ll always remember: You’re braver than you believe, & stronger than you seem, & smarter than you think.” – A.A. Milne

24. “Opportunity does not knock, it presents itself when you beat down the door.” – Kyle Chandler

25. “You are never too old to set another goal or dream a new dream.”

Also, Refer: 30 Exciting Back-to-School Quotes for Students and Teachers

25 Inspiring Quotes For Graduates

26. “Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds that you plant.” –Robert Louis Stevenson

27. “Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.” – Judy Garland

28. “It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” – E.E. Cummings

29. “If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere.” –Frank A. Clark

30. “Either write something worth reading or do something worth reading.” – Benjamin Franklin

31. “If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way.” – James Freeman Clarke

32. “We must use time wisely and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right.” –Nelson Mandela

33. “We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better.” – JK Rowling

34. “The unfortunate, yet truly exciting thing about your life, is that there is no core curriculum. The entire place is an elective.” – Jon Stewart

35. “What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.” –Zig Ziglar

36. “Just remember, you can’t climb the ladder of success with your hands in your pockets.” – Arnold Schwarzenegger

37. “If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you.”

38. “Success doesn’t rush. The greatest reward is the journey!” –Jeff Moore

39. “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

40. “You already have everything you need inside of you today.”

41. “It is not true that people stop pursuing dreams because they grow old; they grow old because they stop pursuing dreams.” –Gabriel García Márquez

42. “A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds.” – Francis Bacon

43. “Every person you meet knows something you don’t; learn from them.” – H Jackson Brown Jr.

44. “The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.” – Sydney Harris

45. “An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.” -Benjamin Franklin

46. “The person who gets the farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare. The sure-thing boat never gets far from shore.” – Dale Carnegie

47. “Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.” –Minor Myers, Jr.

48. “So many of our dreams first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable.” – Christopher Reeve

49. “Learning is the only thing the mind never exhausts, never fears, and never regrets.” – Leonardo da Vinci

50. “Follow your passion. It will lead you to your purpose.” –Oprah Winfrey

Also, Refer: 100+ Inspiring Education Quotes to Boost Your Preparation

20 Graduation Day Quotes to Celebrate

51. “Surround yourself with doers. Be around people who demonstrate their boldness.” – Wayne W. Dyer

52. “Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

53. “Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.”

54. “Accept responsibility for your life. Know that it is you who will get you where you want to go, no one else.” – Les Brown

55. “Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.” –Dr. Seuss

56. “As you start your journey, the first thing you should do is throw away that store-bought map and begin to draw your own.” – Michael Dell

57. “Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” –Winston Churchill

58. “Whatever you choose for a career path, remember the struggles along the way are only meant to shape you for your purpose.”

59. “Self-confidence is the first requisite to great undertakings.” – Samuel Johnson

60. “Intelligence plus character—that is the goal of true education.” –Martin Luther King Jr.

61. “You miss 100% of the shots you never take.”

62. “Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice, and most of all, love of what you are doing.” – Pele

63. “It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.” – William Shakespeare

65. “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

66. “You will find the key to success under the alarm clock.” – Benjamin Franklin

67. “Sometimes you find out what you are supposed to be doing by doing the things you are not supposed to do.” – Oprah

68. “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

69. “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

70. “You may never know what results come of your action, but if you do nothing there will be no result.” – Mahatma Gandhi

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71. “When you have a dream, you’ve got to grab it and never let go.” – Carol Burnett

72. “The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.” – Michael Altschuler

73. “The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.” –B.B. King

74. “If you want something you’ve never had, you must be willing to do something you’ve never done.” –Thomas Jefferson

75. “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

76. “I encourage you to live with life. Be courageous, and adventurous. Give us a tomorrow, more than we deserve.” –Maya Angelou

77. “You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” – A.A. Milne

78. “Follow your passion. Stay true to yourself. Never follow someone else’s path unless you’re in the woods and you’re lost and you see a path. By all means, you should follow that.” – Ellen DeGeneres

79. “My dear terrified graduates, you are about to enter the most uncertain and thrilling period of your lives.” –Lin-Manuel Miranda

80. “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.” –Henry David Thoreau

81. “In response to those who say to stop dreaming and face reality, I say keep dreaming and make reality.” – Kristian Kan

82. “Your education is a dress rehearsal for a life that is yours to lead.” -Nora Ephron

83. “In this life, we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love.” –Mother Teresa

84. “Love what you do. Get good at it. Competence is a rare commodity in this day and age.” – Jon Stewart

85. “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.” –Henry David Thoreau

86. “The most important thing in your life is to live your life with integrity and to not give into peer pressure to try to be something that you’re not.” –Ellen DeGeneres

87. “Life is my college. May I graduate well, and earn some honours!” –Louisa May Alcott

88. “Your life is your story, and the adventure ahead of you is the journey to fulfil your own purpose and potential.” -Kerry Washington

89. “Everything’s always ending. But everything’s always beginning, too.” – Patrick Ness

90. “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

91. “Your imagination is your preview of life’s coming attractions.” –Albert Einstein

92. “If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know it when you find it.” –Steve Jobs

93. “Before you act, listen. Before you react, think. Before you spend, earn. Before you criticize, wait. Before you quit, try.” – William Arthur Ward

94. “Don’t just get involved. Fight for your seat at the table. Better yet, fight for a seat at the head of the table.” – Barack Obama

95. “There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.” –C.S. Lewis

96. “What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us.” –Ralph Waldo Emerson

97. “Nothing is going to be handed to you. You have to make things happen.” –Florence Griffith-Joyner

98. “What sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to the human soul.” – Joseph Addison

99. “Always aim high, work hard, and care deeply about what you believe in.”- Hillary Clinton

100. “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” – Steve Jobs

101. “No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world.” – Robin Williams

102. “Now that you’ve graduated, just remember: Bosses don’t usually accept notes from your mother.” – Melanie White

Last Words

We hope that these inspirational graduation quotes will help you become more confident in your objectives and goals at this pivotal point in your life!

Did you like these graduation sayings? Which of these graduation quotes was your favourite? Let us know about it in the comments area below. Don’t forget to share with your friends and followers as well.