115 Inspiring High School Graduation Quotes
High school graduation is a major milestone in one's life. It marks the completion of a chapter — a chapter that was filled with tears, laughter, friendship, hardship — but most importantly — growth.
Friendships were formed — some of these friendships will stand the test of time, while some of which will falter in mere months. It is truly a changing time for a young person, as the next adventures in their life awaits.
So give the graduates the congratulations and wishes that they deserve. Keep them inspired as they pursue their dreams. And when it comes to providing inspiration, nothing is more effective than some meaningful words from a famous person.
Below we have curated a list of more than a hundred motivation quotes that are perfect for inspiring a teenager — whether he's your friend, son, or daughter — who is about to or going to graduate from high school.
While these quotes are curated for high school students in mind, most of them also works for college graduation. If you like beautiful watercolor/floral quote images, you will love these illustrated inspirational college graduation quotes.
Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm. — Winston Churchill
It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are. — E.E. Cummings
Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world right in the eye. — Helen Keller
My father always told me: Find a job you love and you'll never have to work a day in your life. — Jim Fox
We don't stop going to school when we graduate. — Carol Burnett
There are two types of education. One should teach us how to make a living, and the other how to live. — John Adams
Use your knowledge and your heart to stand up for those who can't stand, speak for those who can't speak. — Julie Andrews
The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet. — Aristotle
Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else. — Judy Garland
Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind. — Dr. Seuss
Knowledge is power. — Francis Bacon
12. Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you. — Ralph Waldo Emerson
What we are is God's gift to us. What we become is our gift to God. — Eleanor Powell
A professor is someone who talks in someone else's sleep. — W.H. Auden
Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. — Nelson Mandela
Congratulations! Today is your day. You're off to Great Places! You're off and away! You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. You are the guy who'll decide where to go. — Dr. Seuss
The very purpose of our life is happiness, which is sustained by hope…. Hope means keeping going, thinking, ‘I can do this.' It brings inner strength, self-confidence, the ability to do what you do honestly, truthfully and transparently. — The Dalai Lama
You will throughout your life have people who will tell you that you're not good enough. Maybe they're jealous. Maybe they think you aren't. Maybe they've had a bad day. But ultimately you have to believe in yourself. — Meredith Viera
19. Think big thoughts but relish small pleasures. — H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
All successful people, men and women, are big dreamers. They imagine what their future could be, ideal in every respect, and then they work every day toward their distant vision, that goal or purpose. — Brian Tracy
A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds. — Francis Bacon
There is a good reason they call these ceremonies commencement exercises” Graduation is not the end; it's the beginning.” — Orrin Hatch
To accomplish great things, we must not only act but also dream, not only dream, but also believe. — Anatole France
A graduation ceremony is an event where the commencement speaker tells thousands of students dressed in identical caps and gowns that individuality is the key to success. — Robert Orben
Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined. — Henry David Thoreau
Don't be afraid to take a big step if one is indicated; you can't cross a chasm in two small jumps. — David Lloyd George
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
29. The truth is, I was afraid the day I walked into Stanford. And I was afraid the day I walked out. — Carly Fiorina
The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows. — Sydney J. Harris
To the uneducated, an A is just three sticks. — A.A. Milne
Graduation is only a concept. In real life every day you graduate. Graduation is a process that goes on until the last day of your life. If you can grasp that, you'll make a difference. — Arie Pencovici
Education is not filling a pail, but lighting a fire. — William Butler Yeats
Learn everything you can, anytime you can, from anyone you can – there will always come a time when you will be grateful you did. — Sarah Caldwell
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
The man who will use his skill and constructive imagination to see how much he can give for a dollar, instead of how little he can give for a dollar, is bound to succeed. — Henry Ford
The important thing is this: to be able to give up in any given moment all that we are for what we can become. — DeSeaux
The man who graduates today and stops learning tomorrow is uneducated the day after. — Newton D. Baker
In the game of life, when the final buzzer sounds, the only stat you carry with you is the number of assists you made. So help other people put some points on the board. — Mayor Mike Bloomberg
The important thing is not to stop questioning. — Albert Einstein
Time is not measured by the passing of years but by what one does, what one feels, and what one achieves. — Jawaharlal Nehru
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. — Eleanor Roosevelt
The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit. — Nelson Henderson
Education is the best provision for old age. — Aristotle
Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal. — Henry Ford
If you think education is expensive, try ignorance! — Andy McIntyre
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
The larger the island of knowledge, the longer the shoreline of wonder. — Ralph W. Sockman
Life is not easy for anyone. Sometimes you don't see the challenges on the outside, but every single one of us has both those and everything that goes on inside as well. Give it your all. Dare to be all you can be. — Hillary Clinton
50. You cannot help but learn more as you take the world into your hands. Take it up reverently, for it is an old piece of clay, with millions of thumbprints on it. — John Updike
Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten. — B.F. Skinner
Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant. — Robert Louis Stevenson
It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves. — Edmund Hillary
Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine. — Anthony J. D'Angelo
You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. You are the guy who'll decide where to go. — Dr. Seuss
Don't waste time learning the tricks of the trade.” Instead, learn the trade.” — James Charlton and H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice, heart and intuition. — Steve Jobs
Spread joy. Chase your wildest dreams. — Patch Adams
Dream no small dreams for they have no power to move the hearts of men. — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Do not follow where the path may lead. Go, instead, where there is no path and leave a trail. — Ralph Waldo Emerson
In the business world, everyone is paid in two coins: cash and experience. Take the experience first; the cash will come later. — Harold Geneen
First class in life has nothing to do with the clothes you wear, the car you drive or the house you live in. First class is and always will be about the content of your character, the quality of your ideas and the kindness in your heart. — Mayor Cory Booke
Your families are extremely proud of you. You can't imagine the sense of relief they are experiencing. This would be a most opportune time to ask for money. — Gary Bolding
65. Whenever it is possible, a boy should choose some occupation which he should do even if he did not need the money. — William Lyon Phelps
All our dreams can come true…if we have the courage to pursue them. — Walt Disney
It's time to say goodbye, but I think goodbyes are sad and I'd much rather say hello. Hello to a new adventure. — Ernie Harwell
Education is what remains when one has forgotten everything he learned in school. — Albert Einstein
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
A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business. — Henry Ford
An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest. — Benjamin Franklin
What I know now is that feelings are really your GPS system for life. When you're supposed to do something or not supposed to do something, your emotional guidance system lets you know. — Oprah
Excellence is not a skill. It is an attitude. — Ralph Marston
You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. You can't get there by bus, only by hard work and risk and by not quite knowing what you're doing, but what you'll discover will be wonderful. What you'll discover will be yourself. — Alan Alda
There is just one life for each of us: our own. — Euripides
Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value. — Albert Einstein
Wherever you go, go with all your heart. — Confucius
78. There are no shortcuts to any place worth going. — Beverly Sills
I have never let my schooling interfere with my education. — Mark Twain
If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door. — Milton Berle
Success isn't a result of spontaneous combustion. You must set yourself on fire. — Arnold H. Glasow
Graduation day is tough for adults. They go to the ceremony as parents. They come home as contemporaries. After twenty-two years of child-raising, they are unemployed. — Erma Bombeck
As citizens, we understand that it is not about what America may do for us. It's about what can be done by us, together. — President Obama
Just about a month from now I'm set adrift, with a diploma for a sail and lots of nerve for oars. — Richard Halliburton
The fireworks begin today. Each diploma is a lighted match. Each one of you is a fuse. — Edward Koch
To those of you who received honors, awards and distinctions, I say well done. And to the C students, I say you too may one day be president of the United States. — George W Bush
The most rewarding things in life are often the ones that look like they cannot be done. — Arnold Palmer
How many cares one loses when one decides not to be something but to be someone. — Gabrielle
Don't live down to expectations. Go out there and do something remarkable. — Wendy Wasserstein
The things taught in schools and colleges are not an education, but the means of education. — Ralph Waldo Emerson
I believe in the principle that I can make a difference in this world. It may be ever so small, but it will count for the greater good. — Gordon B. Hinckley
Wise are those who learn that the bottom line doesn't always have to be their top priority. — William Arthur Ward
The best of all things is to learn. Money can be lost or stolen, health and strength may fail, but what you have committed to your mind is yours forever. — Louis L'Amour
Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing worth knowing can be taught. — Oscar Wilde
95. You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you. — John Wooden
Of course there's a lot of knowledge in universities: the freshmen bring a little in; the seniors don't take much away, so knowledge sort of accumulates. — A. Lawrence Lowell
Hitch your wagon to a star. — Ralph Waldo Emerson
Sooner or later we all discover that the important moments in life are not the advertised ones, not the birthdays, the graduations, the weddings, not the great goals achieved. The real milestones are less prepossessing. They come to the door of memory unannounced, stray dogs that amble in, sniff around a bit and simply never leave. Our lives are measured by these. — Susan B. Anthony
Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. 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. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary. — Steve Jobs
The trouble with learning from experience is that you never graduate. — Doug Larson
I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. — Maya Angelou
During my second year of nursing school our professor gave us a quiz. I breezed through the questions until I read the last one: What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?” Surely this was a joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times, but how would I know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Before the class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our grade. “Absolutely,” the professor said. “In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say hello.” I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.” — Joann C. Jones
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. — Mark Twain
Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars. — Les Brown
When you leave here, don't forget why you came. — Adlai Stevenson
It is indeed ironic that we spend our school days yearning to graduate and our remaining days waxing nostalgic about our school days. — Isabel Waxman
At commencement you wear your square-shaped mortarboards. My hope is that from time to time you will let your minds be bold, and wear sombreros. — Paul Freund
If you aren't fired with enthusiasm, you will be fired with enthusiasm. — Vince Lombardi
Keep in mind that neither success nor failure is ever final. — Roger Babson
The advantage of a classical education is that it enables you to despise the wealth that it prevents you from achieving. — Russell Green
The best helping hand that you will ever receive is the one at the end of your own arm. — Fred Dehner
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
Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever. — Mahatma Ghandi
Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success. — Napoleon Hill
What better way to greet love ones than to offer words of praises and pleasant sayings for them to feel motivated this day of graduation.
Let your significant others feel loved and appreciated this graduation day through this saying and words of encouragement which they can also rely upon when they would already move up to college.
Hands off to the young ones who have rose above the adversity of living the high school life.
Congratulations and Happy graduation day to you. I wish you all the best in your next endeavors in life.
I am very happy this graduation day as I see you march up that stage, I would never feel more proud as a friend.
Happy graduation to the kindest person I know. Now you have showed the world that you are also a person that perseveres.
Moving up is not the end but a beginning of another journey that one has to finish.
Graduation marks the end of friendships that needs to be reborn.
It is the climb that matters not the destination.
Hats off to our beloved graduates! You have endured the worst things and be ready for more!
Now that you have earned your diploma, what is next for you?
Happy Graduation! You deserve everything that is good and worthy because you have earned every bit of it!
Today is the day that you stand up high and proud in front of the audience to show them how fierce you were in rising above the challenges of high school.
High school is tough but life does not end there. You have to move on to what the world will give you as your next challenge.
My warm and thoughtful words cannot compare to the hardship you have overcome over the years of being a high school student. Congratulations and Happy Graduation!
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Have a great day and enjoy in your life!
This day you are recognized as one of the achievers who have done best in your field. Walk proudly my child.
Get a grip on to that diploma with a high chin on your posture. Have a grin that ever shows one’s eagerness as you have conquered the stage of being a high school student.
Experiencing high school do not depend on the diploma alone but all of the memories you have earned learning and having friends.
All of the things you have learned in high school will be needed for your future life. Appreciate the grind of how hard it is because it prepares you for something much bigger than anything that you have seen.
Going out from high school may be tough but growing is a part of life and you have to be string for the next waves that will come upon you.
The high school life is tough but you can appreciate everything ones you graduate because you can already apply the good learning that you have acquired during your high school times.
You are very special today because you have done the things many would do but few would really cherish. Happy Graduation day to you.
Bravo to my very good friend! Happy Graduation.
Today we celebrate your graduation because it is your success.
This is the highest accomplishment that you have done for your life. Be happy on your graduation day!
Attainment of the peak of your will is celebrated this very day.
All of your efforts are seen in this day. Even if we cannot see all of your hardships, this day is the main event to showcase all of it.
The evidence of your performance in high school will be shown through your passion towards college and in life later on.
Now that you realized that you are graduating, you should understand the fact that it does not end here.
Going through the adversity and getting triumph overall is the most exciting part of graduating from high school.
You have carried out victory with your own hands. Happy Graduation to you.
Do not settle with this graduation alone. Graduate with a legacy. Be free-spirited when it comes to your goals.
Reach for your dreams and make it your reality. High school graduation is just a milestone.
Learn how to actualize oneself through reflecting upon your adversities with your high school life.
Acquire more and get more than what you have now. This is only the start of something better. Happy Graduation to you.
You have done it! You are truly one that does not give up! Congratulations!
Well done, you have finished well!
No one will be happier than your parents for this day has come.
I am so impressed of what you can achieve. Dream more and achieve more things.
If you have the looks and the brains plus the diploma itself this makes you attractive in all levels.
You are deserving of this piece of paper. This is only simple but it represents your years of struggle in high school.
I am wishing you the warmest of all greetings this graduation day!
You have a next adventure to conquer! Get your battle vest ready for the war.
Your next adventure awaits! Happy Graduation to you.
I am glad that you are sharing your success today with us.
I pray that you will have more blessings from this day on.
You have a little bit of pride now because you have completer your high school conquest.
I hope you find your passion and that you may do it without reservations! Happy Graduation day to you.
This is the only day that you can brag on me. Wish you all the best this graduation day!
Enjoy your vacation to the fullest because the next chapter will be bloody.
After this day, you will have more challenges to face but you will be older and wiser by then. Enjoy the ride!
These are the moments that you should be very proud about yourself as a person. It is rarely occasional that one will graduate.
Congratulations for your today and good luck for your tomorrows.
I was staring at you while you were walking down the stage and I saw all the pain that you went through in high school. Happy Graduation to you!
I wish you luck but nothing beats this life event so enjoy every moment of it.
I will be there on you special day because I want to see you on the best times of your life.
This is not goodbye even though it seems so. I will see you soon.
It is nice to be a part of your graduation day because I get to see how special I am as a friend that you want me by your side on your special day.
I hope you remember all of us that watched you on your graduation day. We cheered and shouted just for you to hear.
I knew you would make it! Happy Graduation day!
Your cap and gown says it all! I am speechless as a parent. Happy Graduation my child!
Even if you are so busy being there in the commencements exercises .I hope that you would feel how proud we are of you.
Our highest hopes are given to you this very day. Happy Graduation!
You have believed in yourself that is why you are here at this very moment! Kudos and Happy Graduation to you!
I know that you are sad about leaving your high school buddies behind but do not worry because they will not be replaced by anyone, you will just have more of them by college.
I encourage you to do more of what you like when you would be in college. For now, I appreciate you for being the strong person that you are.
You are a finisher! Be very proud of yourself!
Take it easy from this moment on until the next school year. You deserve rest and relaxation.
It took a lot of hard work before you came into this stage but you still came to this day so I want to say Congratulations to you!
It was a tough call to be in the center stage of it all but if you would remember all of the things that you have done in order to arrive at this moment you will surely endure and take lead.
You have shown yourself up every day for the last years and as a teacher I am so proud of your main accomplishment today which is your graduation day!
Take a look back and see how you have executed your plans and made it happen.
The fulfillment that you have today can never be replaced by anything. Happy Graduation day!
This graduation day, you are seen as a masterpiece at an art show ready to be shown to others.
You have completed a whole lot of the things that you should do in this lifetime, be happy for it!
This concludes your childish ways of being a high school student. Time to be mature, I am sorry but happy graduation still!
Your ambitions are almost at hand. You should continue the good work!
The intentions of the future are always positive. Move on and go get it!
Your mission in this world is not only to graduate but to do something about the diploma that you are currently holding right now.
The objective is to graduate but the goal is to put things into application and to action. Happy Graduation!
Once you move out from this high school setting, you will be confronted with more problems so you have to do your best.
Finish hard! Congratulations on your graduation day dear friend!
Great things will commence. This is only the start!
Never stop learning and exploring the world using your own hands. Happy Graduation!
It is not the graduation period that shapes who you are but the things that you have learned throughout the years of being in high school.
It is amazing to see you in this formal dress, you were so young before now you are conquering graduation balls.
The work is done and over. Time to relish the moment and be energized with the next battles to come.
The future is so bright. Bring your shades when you get to college! Happy Graduation day!
High school graduation wishes for nephew
You have so much in front of you right now and I hope that you will take a moment on this graduation day and appreciate the life that you have been given!
Happy graduation to someone who has put in a lot of hard work and who now deserves a moment to relax and enjoy life.
High school is harder than some people think, and you have worked hard to get yourself through it… I hope that your graduation day is enjoyable!
I hope that you feel excited about the future on this day when you graduate from high school and think about all that your life might become.
Happy graduation to someone who has always dedicated their time to their schoolwork and put in a lot of effort!
You are at an important place in your life right now and I hope that your high school graduation leaves you feeling excited about the future.
It seems like you were just starting high school and now it is time for you to graduate already… I hope that today is special for you!
I hope that you know just how much you mean to all of us on this special high school graduation day, and that you feel celebrated!
May your graduation day be a day for you to look toward the future and think about all that is to come in your life.
May you look back today, on your high school graduation day, and be happy with the work that you put in to get to this point.
I hope that your high school graduation day is a day that is all about you and that is filled with bright thoughts!
I want you to know that I am proud of you for the effort that you put in to reach your high school graduation!