High School Commencement Quotes

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  Those who matter don't mind, and those who mind don't matter.

  Bernard Baruch

  Inspirational, Funny, Life

  242 Copy quote
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  Go, and make interesting mistakes, make amazing mistakes, make glorious and fantastic mistakes. Break rules. Leave the world more interesting for your being here.

  Neil Gaiman

  Inspirational, Graduation, Mistake

  Neil Gaiman's Commencement Address at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, www.uarts.edu. May 17, 2012.

  169 Copy quote

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• Break rules. Leave the world more interesting for your being here.

  Neil Gaiman

  Graduation, Interesting, World

  Neil Gaiman (2016). “The View from the Cheap Seats: Selected Nonfiction”, p.418, Hachette UK

  19 Copy quote

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• There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.

  Beverly Sills

  Inspirational, Motivational, Positive

  "Conquering an Enemy Called Average". Book by John Mason, 1996.

  110 Copy quote

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• Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind. Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.

  Dr. Seuss

  Life, Smile, Graduation

  1947 Copy quote

• Graduation is not the end; it's the beginning.

  Orrin Hatch

  Graduation, Senior, Education

  100 Copy quote

• Develop and protect a moral sensibility and demonstrate the character to apply it. Dream big. Work hard. Think for yourself. Love everything you love, everyone you love, with all your might. And do so, please, with a sense of urgency, for every tick of the clock subtracts from fewer and fewer...

  David McCullough

  Dream, Hard Work, Character

  David McCullough's Commencement Address at Wellesley High School in Wellesley, Massachusetts, www.thedailybeast.com. June 9, 2012.

  14 Copy quote

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• Karate is the best thing you can do for your child.

  Chuck Norris

  Graduation, Art, Children

  13 Copy quote

• Openness isn't the end. It's the beginning.

  Margaret Heffernan

  Graduation, Senior, College

  "Dare to disagree". TED Talk, www.ted.com. June 2012.

  14 Copy quote

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• Make glorious and fantastic mistakes.

  Neil Gaiman

  Graduation, Mistake, Graduates

  Neil Gaiman's Commencement Address at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, www.uarts.edu. May 17, 2012.

  8 Copy quote

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• 

  Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.

  Steve Jobs

  Love, Inspirational, Life

  Commencement Address at Stanford University, delivered 12 June 2005, Palo Alto, CA

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• Harry taught me that death isn't the end, it's the beginning.

  Jennifer Love Hewitt

  Graduation, Senior, College

  "Dexter: Popping Cherry". TV series, 2006.

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  Wherever you go, go with all your heart.

  Confucius

  Inspirational, Happiness, Graduation

  151 Copy quote
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  Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.

  Judy Garland

  Inspirational, Life, Motivational

  "Business Etiquette for the Nineties: Your Ticket to Career Success". Book by Lou Kennedy, 1992.

  157 Copy quote

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• The fireworks begin today. Each diploma is a lighted match. Each one of you is a fuse.

  Ed Koch

  Success, Graduation, Education

  84 Copy quote

• Do not follow where the path may lead.

  Ralph Waldo Emerson

  Graduation, Travel, Adventure

  56 Copy quote

• Sometimes just being still is the best thing you can do for yourself.

  Silas House

  Graduation, Libertarian, Just Being

  Silas House (2010). “Eli the Good”, p.96, Candlewick Press

  14 Copy quote

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• 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

  Funny, Graduation, Senior

  "A Few Tips for the Graduates". The Topeka Capital-Journal, abcnews.go.com. May 20, 2007.

  55 Copy quote

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• Life has a very simple plot: first you're here and then you're not.

  Eric Idle

  Inspirational, Graduation, Simple

  "17 Funniest Lines from Monty Python Star Eric Idle’s Commencement Speech" By Gillian Frew, www.huffingtonpost.com. May 21, 2013.

  15 Copy quote

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• There is a good reason they call these ceremonies 'commencement exercises'. Graduation is not the end; it's the beginning.

  Orrin Hatch

  Graduation, Senior, Exercise

  56 Copy quote

• If you aren't fired with enthusiasm, you will be fired with enthusiasm.

  Vince Lombardi

  Motivational, Positive, Graduation

  Vince Lombardi (2012). “What it Takes to be Number One”, p.92, Thomas Nelson Inc

  15 Copy quote

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• Always be a first-rate version of yourself.

  Audrey Hepburn

  Inspirational, Graduation, Bullying

  "Personal Quotes/ Biography". www.imdb.com. Judy Garland.

  56 Copy quote

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• 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 A. Freund

  Cute, Graduation, Squares

  79 Copy quote

• Be yourself, it's the best thing you can do.

  Greyson Chance

  Graduation, Being Yourself, The End Of The Day

  14 Copy quote

• 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

  Motivational, Graduation, Education

  43 Copy quote