Life

12 Graduation Quotes To Inspire The Class Of 2016

by Chelsey Grasso
Shot of a group of students throwing their hats in the air on graduation day
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It's hard not to shed a few tears on graduation day — be it grad school, college, or even high school. These 12 graduation 2016 quotes are bound to have you feeling a little teary-eyed too, but in the best way possible. They will inspire you, they will motivate you, and they will make you want to take on the world with everything that you've got.

Graduation is representative of a great many things. While it is usually viewed as an ending of something, perhaps it's really that much more of a beginning to something. Graduation feels like a point of ignition to me, and with such being the case, instructive and motivating words can never come at a better time. We should never be too quick to feel like we know everything, and we should always be quick to listen to other's advice, so long as it's solid and smart... which these quotes are.

Share these wonderful quotes with anyone and everyone you know who is graduating this spring. Even if they think they have everything figured out, they don't, and they are going to need some encouragement to remember along the path of life. It can be a windy and crazy road, but so long as you're always walking in the right direction, you're golden.

1. "Graduation is a time of completion, of finishing, of an ending, however, it is also a time of celebration of achievement and a beginning for the new graduate." — Catherine Pulsifer

2. "Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss...you'll land among the stars." — Les Brown

3. "From my point of view, which is that of a storyteller, I see your life as something artful, waiting, just waiting and ready for you to make it art." — Toni Morrison

4. "The aim of education is the knowledge, not of facts, but of values." — William S. Burroughs

5. "I encourage you to live with life. Be courageous, adventurous. Give us a tomorrow, more than we deserve." — Maya Angelou

6. "The fireworks begin today. Each diploma is a lighted match, each one of you is a fuse." — Ed Koch

7. "We don't stop going to school when we graduate." — Carol Burnett

8. "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

9. "There is a good reason they call these ceremonies 'commencement exercises.' Graduation is not the end; it's the beginning." — Orrin Hatch

10. "Be bold, be courageous, be your best." — Gabrielle Giffords

11. "Sometimes you find out what you are supposed to be doing by doing the things you are not supposed to do." — Oprah Winfrey

12. "You get to consciously decide what has meaning and what doesn’t. You get to decide what to worship." — David Foster Wallace

Images: PeopleImages/E+/Getty Images; Giphy