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Quotations for Graduations,
Student Yearbooks,
Advice for Graduates
A graduation ceremony is where the commencement speaker tells 2000 students dressed in identical caps and gowns that individuality is the key to success. ~Robert Orben, 2400 Jokes to Brighten Your Speeches, 1984
Somewhere inside, we hear a voice. It leads us in the direction of who we wish to become. But it is up to us whether or not to follow. ~Pat Tillman (1976–2004), PatTillmanFoundation.org
I leave you love... I leave you hope... I leave you faith. ~Mary McLeod Bethune (1875–1955)
Just about a month from today I'm set adrift, with a diploma for a sail and lots of nerve for oars. ~Richard Halliburton, 1921
Friends and fellow students, we will not say to you that graduation is not the end but only an incident in life, that we shall be only one day older and wiser when the next sun rises, for you who have passed through it know this without telling... Students, keep your eye still fixed upon the day, work honestly for it, it is worth striving for. There is gold of wisdom ahead of you to be had for the digging, there are flowers of delight which may be yours for the plucking; and whether you find the gold or gather the flowers depends upon you. ~Louise E. Hollister, 1883
Graduation is not the end of education, as many seem to think, but the beginning. The world lies before you in exuberant fruitfulness — reach out for its delights. ~C. E. Babb, 1895
I need hardly remind you... that graduation is not the end of your study. It is, as you know, only the beginning of it. You have learned how to study, now it is most important that you continue in this most valuable work... ~John Fulton, 1910
How gratifying it must be to know that on this moment, the hours, the weeks, the years, the collective effort of work and frustration and worry — fed into the pinball machine of college — suddenly pays off with bells and lights and the big jackpot. ~Rod Serling, commencement address, Ithaca College, New York, 1972
Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!...
~Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!, 1990
What you believe is more important than what you possess. What you live is more lasting than what you profess. Whom you inspire is more significant than whom you impress. ~William Arthur Ward, Thoughts of a Christian Optimist, 1968
All that stands between the college graduate and the top of the ladder is the ladder. ~Middlebury Blue Baboon, 1927
Still, I should like to remind you at the end of it all, that success on an occasion of this kind, valuable and important as it is, is in reality only putting the foot upon one rung of the ladder which leads upwards; and that the rung of a ladder was never meant to rest upon, but only to hold a man's foot long enough to enable him to put the other somewhat higher. I trust that you will all regard these successes as simply reminders that your next business is, having enjoyed the success of the day, no longer to look at that success, but to look forward to the next difficulty that is to be conquered. ~Thomas Henry Huxley, "On Medical Education," speech, 1870
You must have long-range goals to keep you from being frustrated by short-range failures. ~Charles C. Noble
Put your future in good hands — your own. ~Mark Victor Hansen, Future Diary, 1980
The best helping hand you will ever find is at the end of your own arm. ~Author unknown, c.1940s
...memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you wish to never lose. ~Bob Brush
No need to hurry. No need to sparkle. No need to be anybody but oneself. ~Virginia Woolf
Actually, wearing those heavy black graduation gowns on a hot June afternoon is ideal preparation for the real world. It gets them used to sweating. ~Robert Orben, 2400 Jokes to Brighten Your Speeches, 1984
It takes most men five years to recover from a college education, and to learn that poetry is as vital to thinking as knowledge. ~Brooks Atkinson, Once Around the Sun, 1951
Summing up, it is clear the future holds great opportunities. It also holds pitfalls. The trick will be to avoid the pitfalls, seize the opportunities, and get back home by six o'clock. ~Woody Allen, "My Speech To the Graduates," 1979
In the business world, everyone is paid in two coins: cash and experience. Take the experience first; the cash will come later. ~Harold Geneen, as quoted by Forbes
In about the same degree as you are helpful you will be happy. ~Karl Reiland, "The Fashion of a Man," The World's Miracle, 1929
The man who graduates... today and stops learning tomorrow is uneducated the day after. ~Newton D. Baker, c.1934
Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught. ~Oscar Wilde, "The Critic as Artist," Intentions, 1891
The things taught in schools & colleges are not an education but the means of education. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1831
If you feel that you have both feet planted on level ground, then the university has failed you. ~Robert F. Goheen, as quoted in TIME, 1961
Life moves pretty fast — you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. ~John Hughes, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, 1986
You cannot but learn more of the world's heft, as you take it now into your hands. Take it up reverently, for it is an old piece of clay, with millions of thumbprints on it. ~John Updike, 1993
Hitch your wagon to a star. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1862
Life is my college. May I graduate well, and earn some honors! ~Louisa May Alcott, 1859
The single relationship truly central and crucial in a life is the relationship to the self... Of all the people you will know in a lifetime, you are the only one you will never leave nor lose. To the question of your life, you are the only answer. To the problem of your life, you are the only solution. ~Jo Coudert, "You Always Learn to Swim in the Winter," Advice from a Failure, 1965
Take your brains, your muscles, your courage, and let's hear from you on occasion, while you're out there building that much better world... ~Rod Serling, commencement address, Ithaca College, New York, 1972
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You're on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.
~Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!, 1990
Love truth and fear not —
Do good and be happy.
~Simeon Carter (1824–1911), Poems and Aphorisms: A Woodman's Musings, 1893
Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for a while, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never, ever the same. ~Flavia Marie Register Weedn (1929–2015), Forever, 1999, flaviastore.archivea.com
Give thanks for what you are now, and keep fighting for what you want to be tomorrow. ~Fernanda Miramontes-Landeros, November 2009 winner of The Quote Garden create your own quote contest on Twitter, @quotegarden
You've got a lot of choices. If getting out of bed in the morning is a chore and you're not smiling on a regular basis, try another choice. ~Steven D. Woodhull, "Tuition," 1999
I think owning your burdens is half the battle. ~Scrubs, "My Catalyst," 2004, written by Bill Lawrence
Seek freedom and become captive of your desires. Seek discipline and find your liberty. ~Frank Herbert, Chapterhouse: Dune, 1985
1. Don't be afraid to say No.
2. Don't be afraid to say Yes.
~Dr. SunWolf, @WordWhispers, tweet, 2017, professorsunwolf.com
Let no one underrate the importance of this May day. You'll think back to it and dwell on it and it will provide sweet threads to the patterns of your memories for all the years to come. ~Rod Serling, commencement address, Ithaca College, New York, 1972
The important thing is this: to be able at any moment to sacrifice that which we are for what we could become. ~Charles Du Bos, Approximations, 1922, translated from French
If life has those moments — ecstasies of health, youth and peace... — treasure them. ~Byron Caldwell Smith (1849–1877), letter to Kate Stephens (1853–1938)
As for me, I always assumed growing up happened automatically as you got older, but it's really something you have to choose to do. ~Scrubs, "My Inconvenient Truth," 2007, written by Debra Fordham [S7, E3, J.D.]
Each of us should lead a life stirring enough to start a movement. We should yearn to change the world. We should love unquenchably, dream unfalteringly, and work unceasingly. ~Max Lucado, "The Makings of a Movement," On the Anvil, 1985
Wake up, do your best, sleep, repeat. ~Thingsweforget.blogspot.com, 2011
The only disability in life is a bad attitude. ~Scott Hamilton
Happy are we met,
Happy have we been,
Happy may we part,
Happy meet again.
~The Goldfinch, 1782
We all have a path to take; sometimes it's hidden under the weeds, so you might have to work a little. ~Mike Dolan, @HawaiianLife, tweet, 2009
B hopeful, B happy, B cheerful, B kind,
B busy of body, B modest of mind,
B earnest, B truthful, B firm and B fair...
B watchful, B ready, B open, B frank,
B manly to all men, whatever B their rank;
B just and B generous, B honest, B wise...
B temperate, B steadfast, to anger B slow.
B thoughtful, B thankful, whate'er may B tide...
B pleasant, B patient, B fervent to all,
B best if you can, but B humble withal.
B prompt and B dutiful, still B polite;
B reverent, B quiet, and B sure and B right...
B grateful, B cautious of those who B tray.
B tender, B loving, B good and B nign,
B loved thou shalt B, and all else B thine.
~"A Swarm of Bees," The British Bee Journal, and Bee Keeper's Adviser, 1882
Occasionally ask, "What is the connection between what I want most in life and anything I plan to do today?" ~Robert Brault, rbrault.blogspot.com
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
~Mary Oliver, "The Summer Day," House of Light, 1990, maryoliver.com
Have some idea of what you intend to do and be, and go on. ~Charles F. Raymond, "This Banner Year," Just Be Glad, 1907
You can't go back and make a new start, but you can start right now and make a brand new ending. ~James R. Sherman [quoteinvestigator.com]
Eighty percent of success is showing up. ~Woody Allen
Our greatest glory is, not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. ~Oliver Goldsmith, c.1760 [quoteinvestigator.com]
As you slide down the banister of life, may the splinters never point your way. ~Author unknown, c.1948
Nothing makes the earth seem so spacious as to have friends at a distance; they make the latitudes and longitudes. ~Henry David Thoreau
We were a happy little party that day — the day I "graduated" — as we drove back to our country home. Graduated! What did it mean? How much was there in me? I had illusions — very many. And I was happy — for surely now something worth-while must happen... and the whole of life was yet to be lived. I felt that way. I sought not the prize; I only loved the race. Achievement meant little to me. ~George A. Dorsey, Young Low, 1917
Strive strenuously; live gently. ~"Poor Richard Junior's Philosophy," The Saturday Evening Post, as reprinted in Poor Richard Jr's Almanack, 1906
The more side roads you stop to explore, the less likely that life will pass you by. ~Robert Brault, rbrault.blogspot.com
Share your happy, hopeful thoughts
And greet each day with zest.
Love each moment that you live
And give the world your best!
~William Arthur Ward, "Keys To Happiness"
The wings of Will take us to places unknown to Heart, further than Imagination. ~Fernanda Miramontes-Landeros, May 2011 entry to The Quote Garden create your own quote contest on Twitter, @quotegarden
We start becoming the person we're intended to be on the day we start intending it. ~Robert Brault, rbrault.blogspot.com, 2019
The best angle from which to approach any problem is the
The greatest joy in a goal achieved
Is sharing the moment with one who believed.
~Robert Brault, rbrault.blogspot.com
College is a great experience and exposes you to a lot of things you might not otherwise learn or experience. You learn to evaluate things, think for yourself, and become a more independent person. Even if you decide not to use your specific degree, college can never be a waste of money if you get something important out of it. Your degree is like money in the bank; it opens up a lot of opportunities for you. ~Steven D. Woodhull, "Tuition," 1999
The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up. ~J. M. Power, in The Sign, as quoted by The Reader's Digest, 1922
"Where are you going, my pretty maid?"
"I'm going to conquer the world," she said.
"I've three mighty weapons on which to rely:
My smile, my diploma, my mischievous eye;
Now, shouldn't I have the whole world at my feet?"
The world answers: "Yes, for they're wonderf'ly neat."
Diplomas are lost or forgotten, you know,
As time presses on, but a smile — never so!
Nor a mischievous eye — these are weapons, in truth,
That will conquer all hearts, and the world too, forsooth.
~W. Dayton Wegefarth (1885–1973), "Commencement Day," Rainbow Verse: A Book of Helpful Sunny Philosophy, 1919
Don't be dismayed at good-byes. A farewell is necessary before you can meet again. And meeting again, after moments or lifetimes, is certain for those who are friends. ~Richard Bach, Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah, 1977
The stars do not doom you to failure. There is no destiny that scowls in your face and smiles at your neighbor. Your destiny... lies in the spot beneath your hat... Keep going and you will reach just where you belong. ~Charles F. Raymond, "The Call to the Young," Just Be Glad, 1907
If one dream should fall and break into a thousand pieces, never be afraid to pick one of those pieces up and begin again. ~Flavia Marie Register Weedn (1929–2015), Flavia and the Dream Maker, 1988, flaviastore.archivea.com
Every day has a little bit of beauty and a little bit of chaos. ~Tanisha, @burlappearlsandboots, Instagram post, 2017
Don't be an easy-doing child, do hard things too. Remember a blacksmith never got a big muscle by hammering an inch nail, but by swinging a heavy hammer while beating out an iron bar. Sometimes we must run hard roads, through briers, over sharp stones, and any which way. ~Sunday School Helper, 1897 [a little altered
Four steps to achievement: Plan purposefully. Prepare prayerfully. Proceed positively. Pursue persistently. ~William Arthur Ward, For This One Hour, 1969
To be nobody-but-yourself — in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else — means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting. ~E.E. Cummings, "A Poet's Advice to Students," 1955
Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine. ~Anthony J. D'Angelo, The College Blue Book, 1995, collegiate-empowerment.org
Time goes, you say? Ah no!
Alas, Time stays, we go;
Or else, were this not so,
What need to chain the hours,
For Youth were always ours?...
We pass landscapes, and think we see
The earth's fixed surface flee:—
Time goes, you say?—ah no!
Alas, Time stays,—we go!
~Austin Dobson, "The Paradox of Time," 1875 [a little altered
In the age in which we live, the impossible is every day losing ground. ~Madame Swetchine, translated by Harriet W. Preston
If you can imagine it, you can possess it. If you can dream it, you can become it. If you can envision it, you can attain it. If you can picture it, you can achieve it. ~William Arthur Ward, For This One Hour, 1969
Nature decrees that we do not exceed the speed of light. All other impossibilities are optional. ~Robert Brault, rbrault.blogspot.com
I will not follow where the path may lead, but I will go where there is no path, and I will leave a trail. ~Muriel Strode (1875–1964), "Wind-Wafted Wild Flowers," in The Open Court, August 1903
ABNORMAL: To have intelligence, character or genius... to be one's self. ~Elbert Hubbard, The Roycroft Dictionary
Understand that the people who care about you are not trying to discourage you — they're trying to protect you from disappointment. You must appreciate them, and, of course, ignore them. ~Robert Brault, rbrault.blogspot.com
Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else. ~Judy Garland, as quoted by The Reader's Digest, 1998
At the end of college a diploma is handed to us and the dark waters of what we don't know surge over our heads... From the dozens of paths which lead out from the acropolis of the college we choose and without quite knowing why we take it — It is like a jump off a diving board, in the first confusion and strangeness of the world under water... Education can only be proven a success if it enables you to strike out under your own power and swim. ~Althea Warren (1886–1958)
What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. ~Henry Stanley Haskins, "Metapsychics," Meditations in Wall Street, 1940
It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves. ~Edmund Hillary, as quoted by The Reader's Digest, 1993
I will annihilate the narrow margin that lies between me and my unused potency. ~Muriel Strode (1875–1964), "Songs of Longing: XXVIII," At the Roots of Grasses, 1923
What a fool, quoth he, am I thus to lie in a stinking Dungeon, when I may as well walk at liberty? I have a Key in my bosom, called Promise, that will, I am persuaded, open any Lock in Doubting Castle. ~John Bunyan, The Pilgrim's Progress from This World to That Which Is To Come, 1678
...time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time. ~Marthe Troly-Curtin, Phrynette Married, 1912 [quoteinvestigator.com]
We do not remember days, we remember moments. ~Cesare Pavese
Life is not about discovering our talents; it is about pushing our talents to the limit and discovering our genius. ~Robert Brault, rbrault.blogspot.com
Often, what seems an impossible climb is just a staircase without the steps drawn in. ~Robert Brault, rbrault.blogspot.com
Success comes in cans, not can'ts. ~Author unknown, c.1910
[Y]ou can do it, even if you can't. Just keep can'ting until eventually you can. ~Jarod Kintz, Goodreads bio
Whether you believe you can do a thing or not, you are right. ~Virgil [quoteinvestigator.com]
Promise yourself to live your life as a REVOLUTION and not just a process of evolution. ~Anthony J. D'Angelo, The College Blue Book, 1995, collegiate-empowerment.org
I dare to be honest, and I fear no labour. ~Robert Burns, 1789
So…
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,
you're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So…get on your way!
~Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!, 1990
Most of us don't need a psychiatric therapist as much as a friend to be silly with. ~Robert Brault, rbrault.blogspot.com
It takes a long time to grow an old friend. ~John Leonard, in Friends and Friends of Friends by Bernard Pierre Wolff, as quoted by The Reader's Digest, 1989
The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart. ~Elisabeth Foley, as quoted by The Reader's Digest, 1987
May you always remember that you are a sacred and beautiful rainbow. You are here to love and to share your special gifts. ~Rachel Rose Zoller, My Body Is a Rainbow: A Book about Our Chakras, 2016, www.rachaelrosezoller.com
Every individual has a place to fill in the world, and is important in some respects, whether he chooses to be so or not. ~Nathaniel Hawthorne
Don't find fault; find a remedy. ~Henry Ford
Your life, it lies before you
Like a path of driven snow.
Be careful how you tread it
For every step will show.
~Author unknown, c. 1940s
The world wants men
Has man fallen?
You, man, arise…
~James Oppenheim, "1914—And After," War and Laughter, 1916
Have we not all, amid life's petty strife,
Some pure ideal of a noble life
That once seemed possible? Did we not hear
The flutter of its wings, and feel it near,
And just within our reach? It was. And yet
We lost it in this daily jar and fret,
And now live idle in a vague regret;
But still our place is kept, and it will wait,
Ready for us to fill it, soon or late.
No star is ever lost we once have seen,
We always may be what we might have been.
~Adelaide Anne Procter, A Legend of Provence [quoteinvestigator.com]
Sometimes, it is said we are dreamers. Well, the world needs dreamers. Sometimes out of these dreams come visions that materialize into great things. ~John J. Wood, 1916
The world needs its dreamers and its doers. ~The Commercial & Financial Chronicle, 1918
The world needs dreamers and the world needs doers. But above all, the world needs dreamers who do. ~Sarah Ban Breathnach, Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy, 1995
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published 1998 Mar 18
revised 2021, 2024
last saved 2024 Nov 29
www.quotegarden.com/graduation-yearbooks.html