Graduating from college or university and preparing for the ‘real world’ is not easy. It is a momentous event that marks the transition from one chapter of life to another. It’s a mix of emotions, from joy to nostalgia, for both the graduates and their families.
Dealing with student loans, pressure from parents, and asking yourself the big question, ‘What should I do with my life?’ can be overwhelming.
If you are a recent graduate, here are some motivational and inspirational quotes to keep you going and to prepare you for the next stage of life after college.
Inspirational College Graduation Quotes
- “Everything’s always ending. But everything’s always beginning, too.” — Patrick Ness
- “The fireworks begin today. Each diploma is a lighted match, each one of you is a fuse.” — Ed Koch
- “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
- “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.” —Dr. Seuss
- “Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.” — Judy Garland
- “You may never know what results come of your action, but if you do nothing there will be no result.” — Mahatma Ghandi
- “Education is something we have to keep pursuing day after day.” — Premier Brian Gallant
- “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
- “The best way to predict your future is to create it.” – Abraham Lincoln
- “No, sky is not the limit. It is only the beginning.” — Donovan Livingston
- “Every person you meet knows something you don’t; learn from them.” —H Jackson Brown Jr.
- “Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world right in the eye.” – Helen Keller
- “Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.” — Vincent Van Gogh
- “To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream, not only plan, but also believe.” — Anatole Franc
- “It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” – E.E. Cummings
Funny College Graduation Quotes
- “Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.” — Albert Einstein
- “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” — Ferris Bueller, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”
- “I look to the future because that is where I’m going to spend the rest of my life.” — George Burns
- “Try not to have a good time … This is supposed to be educational.” — Lucy Van Pelt, “Peanuts”
- “People don’t turn down money. It’s what separates us from the animals.” — Jerry Seinfeld
- “When all else fails, there’s always delusion.” — Conan O’Brien
- “Summer vacation does kind of set up an adulthood of disappointment. That first job, you’re like, ‘I have to go to work in July? What is this, Russia?'”— Jim Gaffigan,
- “Adults are always asking little kids what they want to be when they grow up because they’re looking for ideas.” —Paula Poundstone
- “A mind is like a parachute. It doesn’t work if it is not open.” — Frank Zappa
- “Do not take life too seriously – you will never get out of it alive.” — Elbert Hubbard
- “You’re only given a little spark of madness, you mustn’t lose it.” — Robin Williams
- “You can’t be that kid standing at the top of the water slide overthinking it. You have to go down the chute.” — Tina Fey
- “All my life, I always wanted to be somebody. Now I see that I should have been more specific.” — Jane Wagner
- “If at first you don’t succeed, then skydiving definitely isn’t for you.” — Steven Wright
- “Never follow anyone else’s path. Unless you’re in the woods and you’re lost and you see a path; then, by all means, you should follow that path.” — Ellen Degeneres
- “You’re still here? It’s over. Go home. Go.” — Ferris Bueller, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”
College Graduation Quotes inspired by song lyrics
- “Tonight / We are young /So, let’s set the world on fire / We can burn brighter than the sun.” — Fun, “We Are Young”
- “As we go on, we remember / All the times we had together / And as our lives change / Come whatever / We will still be friends forever.” — Vitamin C, “Graduation (Friends Forever)
- “Today is where your book begins, the rest is still unwritten.” – drawn from Natasha Bedingfield’s “Unwritten.”
- “I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance / Never settle for the path of least resistance.” — Lee Ann Womack, “I Hope You Dance”
- “School’s out for summer / School’s out forever.” — Alice Cooper, “School’s Out”
- “I’ll spread my wings and I’ll learn how to fly / I’ll do what it takes ‘til I touch the sky / And I’ll make a wish, take a chance, make a change and breakaway.” — Kelly Clarkson, “Breakaway”
- “It’s something unpredictable, but in the end, it’s right. I hope you had the time of your life.” – inspired by Green Day’s “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life).”
- “Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.” – inspired by Semisonic’s “Closing Time.”
- “And I’ll be gone, gone tonight / The ground beneath my feet is open wide.” — One Direction, “Story of My Life’
- “You just gotta ignite the light and let it shine / Just own the night, like the Fourth of July.” — Katy Perry, “Firework”
- “Ain’t about how fast I get there / Ain’t about what’s waiting on the other side / It’s the climb.” — Miley Cyrus, “The Climb”
- “Long live all the magic we made and bring on all the pretenders. One day, we will be remembered.” – from Taylor Swift’s “Long Live.”
- “I am unwritten / Can’t read my mind / I’m undefined / I’m just beginning / The pen’s in my hand / Ending unplanned.” —Natasha Bedingfield, “Unwritten”
