"Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself."
- John Dewey
Education
"Take pride in how far you’ve come. Have faith in how far you can go. But don’t forget to enjoy the journey."
- Michael Josephson
Motivation
""I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.""
- Michael Jordan
Failure
""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
Ambition
""Don't be afraid. Be focused. Be determined. Be hopeful. Be empowered.""
- Michelle Obama
Empowerment
""Cynicism has never won a war, or cured a disease, or started a business, or fed a young mind, or sent men into space. Cynicism is a choice. Hope is a better choice.""
- Barack Obama
Hope
""There is no such thing as failure. Failure is just life trying to move us in another direction.""
- Oprah Winfrey
""Nothing is impossible. The word itself says 'I'm possible.'""
- Audrey Hepburn
Optimism
""To live is to develop an internal moral, emotional G.P.S. that can tell you which way to go.""
- Oprah
Awareness
""Success is not about wealth or fame, but about inner happiness and fulfillment.""
- Margot Robbie
Success
"Your life is your story, and the adventure ahead of you is the journey to fulfill your own purpose and potential."
- Kerry Washington
Inspiration
""Get busy living or get busy dying.""
- Stephen King
""You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.""
- Wayne Gretzky
Taking Risks
""All of our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.""
- Walt Disney
Aspirations
""It is absolutely still possible to make a difference.""
"Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can."
- Arthur Ashe
""Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.""
- Henry David Thoreau
""Don't just get involved. Fight for your seat at the table. Better yet, fight for a seat at the head of the table.""
Leadership
""We are all deserving and we don’t need permission or an invitation to exist and to step into our power.""
- Ilhan Omar
""You have to believe in yourself when no one else does.""
- Serena Williams
Belief in Self
""Don’t be afraid of fear. Because it sharpens you, it challenges you, it makes you stronger; and when you run away from fear, you also run away from the opportunity to be your best possible self.""
- Ed Helms
Courage
""As you graduate, as you deal with your excitement and your doubts today, I urge you to try and create the world you want to live in. Minister to the world in a way that can change it. Minister radically in a real, active, practical, get your hands dirty way.""
- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Change
""You can never be overdressed or overeducated.""
- Oscar Wilde
""There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.""
- C.S. Lewis
""Don’t allow people to dim your shine because they are blinded. Tell them to put on sunglasses.""
- Lady Gaga
""Never let anyone put you in a box or tell you what you can do. Make sure you paint your own picture and go your own path, and continue to think outside the box.""
- Magic Johnson
Independence
""You can’t climb the ladder of success with your hands in your pockets.""
- Arnold Schwarzenegger
"To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream, not only plan, but also believe."
- Anatole France
""There is nothing more beautiful than finding your course as you believe you bob aimlessly in the current. Wouldn’t you know that your path was there all along, waiting for you to knock, waiting for you to become. This path does not belong to your parents, your teachers, your leaders, or your lovers. Your path is your character defining itself more and more everyday like a photograph coming into focus.""
- Jodie Foster
Personal Growth
""The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.""
- Eleanor Roosevelt
""There’s something so special about a woman who dominates in a man’s world. It takes a certain grace, strength, intelligence, fearlessness, and the nerve to never take no for an answer.""
- Rihanna
""Don’t you ever let a soul in the world tell you that you can’t be exactly who you are.""
""It is better to be a failure at something you love than to be a success at something you hate.""
- George Burns
""The road to success is always under construction.""
- Lily Tomlin
""Dreams are lovely. But they are just dreams. Fleeting, ephemeral, pretty. But dreams do not come true just because you dream them. It's hard work that makes things happen. It's hard work that creates change.""
- Shonda Rhimes
Hard Work
""It’s the choice. You have to wake up every day and say, ‘There’s no reason today can’t be the best day of my life’.”"
- Blake Lively
Positivity
""Do. Or do not. There is no try.""
- Yoda
Determination
""If you can’t outplay them, outwork them.""
- Ben Hogan
""You get in life what you have the courage to ask for.""
""The meaning of life is to find your gift, the purpose of life is to give it away.""
- Joy J. Golliver
Contribution
""Success is only meaningful and enjoyable if it feels like your own.""
""Remember this: You are awesome. I’m not suggesting you be boastful. No one likes that in men or women. But I am suggesting that believing in yourself is the first necessary step to coming even close to achieving your potential.""
- Sheryl Sandberg
Self-confidence
""It's amazing what you can get if you quietly, clearly and authoritatively demand it.""
- Meryl Streep
""It's the choice. You have to wake up every day and say 'There's no reason today can't be the best day of my life.'""
""A woman with a voice is, by definition, a strong woman.""
- Melinda Gates
""There may be people that have more talent than you, but there’s no excuse for anyone to work harder than you do.""
- Derek Jeter
"The only thing you can do in this life is pursue your passions, celebrate your bloopers and never stop following your fear."
- Grace Helbig
""It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up.""
- Babe Ruth
Perseverance
""Your self worth is determined by you. You don’t have to depend on someone telling you who you are.""
- Beyoncé
Self-esteem
""Every day is a new opportunity to change your life and be who you want to be.""
- Demi Lovato
""Real courage is holding on to a still voice in your head that says, ‘I must keep going.’ It’s that voice that says nothing is a failure if it is not final. That voice that says to you, ‘Get out of bed. Keep going. I will not quit.'""
- Cory Booker
""Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.""
""What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us.""
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Inner Peace
""I encourage you to live with life. Be courageous, adventurous. Give us a tomorrow, more than we deserve.""
- Maya Angelou
""Your imagination is your preview of life's coming attractions.""
- Albert Einstein
Imagination
""I’m a greater believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.""
- Thomas Jefferson
""In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love.""
- Mother Teresa
Compassion
""I can’t think of any better representation of beauty than someone who is unafraid to be herself.""
- Emma Stone
""If we’d all stuck with our first dream, the world would be overrun with cowboys and princesses. So whatever your dream is right now, if you don’t achieve it you haven’t failed and you’re not some loser.""
- Stephen Colbert
""We're only here for so long. Be happy, man. You could get hit by a truck tomorrow.""
- Timothée Chalamet
Happiness
""If you aren't going all the way, why go at all?""
- Joe Namath
""Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.""
- Thomas Edison
""You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it.""
- Robin Williams
Creativity
""If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one.""
- Dolly Parton
""That clock you hear is the sound of your own heart. Sink your teeth into this life, and don’t get let go.""
- Lin Manuel Miranda
""You can’t do it alone. Be open to collaboration. Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you. Spend a lot of time with them and it will change your life.""
- Amy Poehler
Teamwork
""I celebrate you as you remember the power of grace and pride, and I challenge you to choose freedom over fear.""
- Janelle Monáe
""Now the first suggestion is to aim high, but 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.""
- Sandra Day O'Connor
Goals
""The horizon leans forward, offering you space to place new steps of change.""
""Real leadership comes from the quiet nudging of an inner voice. It comes from realizing that the time has come to move beyond waiting to doing.""
- Madeleine Albright
""A lot of people give up just before they’re about to make it. You know you never know when that next obstacle is going to be the last one.""
- Chuck Norris
""No matter what happens in life, be good to people. Being good to people is a wonderful legacy to leave behind.""
- Taylor Swift
""I'm continually trying to make choices that put me out of my own comfort zone. As long as you're uncomfortable it means you're growing.""
- Ashton Kutcher
Growth
""My favorite animal is the turtle. The reason is that in order for the turtle to move, it has to stick its neck out. There are going to be times in your life when you’re going to have to stick your neck out. There will be challenges, and instead of hiding in a shell, you have to go out and meet them.""
- Ruth Westheimer
""You can never be the best. The only thing you can be the best at is developing yourself.""
- Natalie Portman
Self-improvement
""When people tell you not to believe in your dreams, and they say 'Why?' say 'Why not?'""
- Billie Jean King
""Heroes are ordinary people who make themselves extraordinary.""
- Gerard Way
""Don’t ever doubt yourselves or waste a second of your life. It’s too short and you’re too special.""
- Ariana Grande
""It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.""
- E. E. Cummings
""Work so hard that you never have to introduce yourself.""
- Gigi Hadid
""Stay hungry. Stay foolish.""
- Steven Jobs
""To give any less than your best is to sacrifice a gift.""
- Steve Prefontaine
""Persistence can change failure into extraordinary achievement.""
- Matt Biondi
""This above all: To thine own self be true.""
- William Shakespeare
Integrity
""Be bold, be courageous, be your best.""
- Gabrielle Giffords
""A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.""
- Sun Tzu
New Beginnings
""She turned her can’ts into cans and her dreams into plans.""
- Kobi Yamada
""A champion is someone who gets up when he can't.""
- Jack Dempsey
Resilience
""For every winner, there doesn't have to be a loser. In fact, most success stories are less about competition and more about collaboration.""
- Michelle Yeoh
""Building your community is how you change the world.""
- LeBron James
""If everything was perfect, you would never learn and you would never grow.""
""I’ve always done whatever I want and been exactly who I am.""
- Billie Eilish
""If you were born with the weakness to fall you were born with the strength to rise.""
- Rupi Kaur
""Do one thing every day that scares you.""
Facing Fears
"no regrets in life. Just lessons."
- Jennifer Aniston
"There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind."
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us."
""The best remedy for those who are frightened, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be alone with the sky, nature, and God. For only then can you feel that everything is as it should be and that God wants people to be happy amid nature’s beauty and simplicity.""
- Anne Frank
Connection to Earth
""Time is the most valuable resource on the planet.""
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
""Trust your gut, keep throwing darts at the dartboard. Don’t listen to the critics – and you will figure it out.""
- Will Ferrell
"Graduation is not the end; it’s the beginning."
- Senator Orrin Hatch
""Sometimes the problem feels so big that changing one life doesn’t feel like enough. But it is.""
- America Ferrera
""You can be everything. You can be the infinite amount of things that people are.""
- Kesha
""You could travel with the sheep, follow everybody else’s stuff, but then you’re not you. I guess if I want to say anything it’s ‘Be you.’ Be true to you, and that should make the ride a little more interesting.""
- Whoopi Goldberg
""When someone who loves you hugs you, hug them back with two arms—don’t do the one-arm hug, because when you hug someone with two arms, it allows you to lean on somebody, and we all need someone to lean on.""
- Sandra Bullock
""Understand that one day you will have the power to make a difference, so use it well.""
- Mindy Kaling
Responsibility
""Don’t try so hard to fit in, and certainly don’t try so hard to be different, just try hard to be you.""
- Zendaya
""Ignore the naysayers. Really the only option is: head down and focus on the job.""
- Chris Pine
""Life can be heavy if you carry it all at once. Know what to keep and what to release. Decide what is yours to hold, and let all the other things go.""
Balance
""Opportunity dances with those who are already on the dance floor.""
- Jackson Browne
""For the great doesn’t happen through impulse alone, and is a succession of little things that are brought together.""
- Vincent van Gogh
""Be persistent and never give up hope.""
- George Lucas
""No job or task is too small or beneath you. If you want to get ahead, volunteer to do the things no one else wants to do, and do it better.""
- Bobbi Brown
""Even if you are on the right track, you will get run over if you just sit there.""
- Will Rogers
""What do you have to do? What do you want to do? Tomorrow is not promised. Make plans anyway.""
""Success is nothing if you don’t have the right people to share it with; you’re just going to end up lonely.""
- Selena Gomez
Relationships
""Started from the bottom, now we’re here.""
- Drake
""You will stumble and fall, you will experience both disaster and triumph, sometimes in the same day. But it's really important to remember that like a hangover, neither triumphs nor disasters last forever.""
- Helen Mirren
""Keep smiling, because life is a beautiful thing and there’s so much to smile about.""
- Marilyn Monroe
""Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.""
""So often in life things that you regard as an impediment turn out to be great good fortune.""
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Adversity
"The fireworks begin today. Each diploma is a lighted match. Each one of you is a fuse."
- Edward Koch
Achievement
""There are multiple sides to all of us. Who we are — and who we might be if we follow our dreams.""
- Miley Cyrus
""Being realistic is the most commonly traveled road to mediocrity.""
- Will Smith
""You don’t have to be famous. You just have to make your mother and father proud of you, and you already have.""
Family
""When we show up, act boldly, and practice the best ways to be wrong, we fail forward. No matter where we end up, we’ve grown from where we began.""
- Stacey Abrams
""We may live in an age of instant messaging, instant gratification and Instagram, but there is no way to short circuit the path to success.""
- Tory Burch
""And here you are living despite it all.""
""Embrace your uniqueness for it is what makes you truly beautiful.""
- Dove Cameron
Self-awareness
""Keep your eyes on the finish line and not on the turmoil around you.""
Focus
""You're never a loser until you quit trying.""
- Mike Ditka
""There are no regrets in life — just lessons.""
Reflection
""Sometimes it takes a good fall to know where you stand.""
- Hayley Williams
""Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.""
- Gloria Steinem
""You have to dance a little bit before you step out into the world each day, because it changes the way you walk.""
Mindfulness
""God will never give you anything you can’t handle, so don’t stress.""
- Kelly Clarkson
Faith
""Be kind to yourself a little more every day.""
- Dua Lipa
Self-care
""Please don’t be afraid, don’t worry yourself. The end and beginning, beginning and end are connected.""
- BTS's Suga
""Don’t take yourself too seriously. Know when to laugh at yourself, and find a way to laugh at obstacles that inevitably present themselves.""
- Halle Bailey
""Frustration, although quite painful at times, is a very positive and essential part of success.""
- Bo Bennett
""There will be times when your best isn’t good enough. There can be many reasons for this, but as long as you give your best you’ll be OK.""
- Robert de Niro
""There are no regrets in life. Just lessons.""
""Do not take life too seriously. You will never get out of it alive.""
- Elbert Hubbard
Contentment
""You’re not a slacker if you cut yourself some slack.""
- Bill Gates
""Change takes courage.""
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
""You will screw it up sometimes.""
""If you don’t have any shadows you’re not in the light.""
""There’s always going to be someone who doesn’t like you.""
"Futures don’t make themselves, you have to create them."
"Nothing in life is impossible as long as you take that first step."
"All our dreams can come true…if we have the courage to pursue them."
"If you follow your dreams, you are capable of anything."
"Your future is only as good as the work you put into it."
"I’ve learned from the bad times and was humbled by the good. Thank you for all of the great life lessons."
Learning from Mistakes
"Don’t live someone else’s dream, find your own."
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind."
"Graduation is the first step of the next chapter of your life."
"The saddest thing in life is wasted talent"
"I know that I will look back on these days as being the happiest of my life."
"Don’t assume the answer is no before you ask the question."
"Thanks for all of the memories. I had the time of my life! Miss you all!"
"I’ll never forget these great years with all of you!"
"Where has the time gone? I’ll miss you all dearly."
"Thank you teachers for never giving up on me."
Gratitude
"A big thank you to my friends, family, and teachers for making me who I am today."
"Yesterday is what brought you to today."
"Thanks Mom and Dad! I couldn’t have done it without you!"
"Teach me knowledge and good judgment, for I trust your commands."
"You can’t move forward without saying goodbye to the past."
"Goodbye old boyfriends. Hello new boyfriends!"
""It never hurts to keep looking for sunshine.""