100+ College Graduation Quotes to Live By (2024)

College graduation quotes 2021

Are you a recent college graduate looking for some motivation to start your life? Here are 100+ college graduation quotes to live by!

These quotes will be divided up into a few different sections such as success, fear, inspirational, funny, and happiness.

Congratulations on graduating college! It may seem like a stressful time in life, but with a few of these graduation quotes, you might just feel a spark of motivation.

Let’s start off with the first section!

Inspirational College Graduation Quotes

“When life gives you a hundred reasons to break down and cry, show life that you have a million reasons to smile and laugh. Stay strong.”

“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” – C.S. Lewis
“If you get tired, learn to rest, not to quit.” – Banksy
“If people are doubting how far you can go, go so far that you can’t hear them anymore.” – Michelle Ruiz
“To heal a wound, you need to stop touching it.”
“Don’t give up because you had a bad day. Forgive yourself and do better tomorrow.”
“It’s going to be hard, but hard is not the same as impossible.”
“Your life isn’t yours if you always care what others think.”
“A bad semester or one bad grade won’t define your future.”
“If the plan doesn’t work, change the plan, but never the goal.”
“If you have the courage to start, you have the courage to succeed.”

Funny Quotes

If you’re looking for a little giggle or something relatable now that you’ve graduated college, here are a few funny college quotes to learn from…

“People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing everyday.”

The biggest lie I tell myself is “I don’t need to write that down, I’ll just remember it.”

“It’s amazing how the world begins to change through the eyes of a cup of coffee.” – Donna A. Favors

“Every year, many, many stupid people graduate from college. If they can do it, so can you.” – John Green

“Every college student knows the importance of 11:59 p.m.”

“I would like to personally thank Google, Wikipedia, and whoever invented copy and paste.”

“I’m surprised you graduated.” – Mom

“Don’t take life too seriously… no one makes it out alive.”

“College is like looking both ways before you cross the street… and then you get hit by an airplane.”

If you think you’re too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito. – Dalai Lama

Quotes About Success

Now that you’re heading into that faze of your life where the ultimate goal is success (in whatever way success looks like to you), here are a few quotes to live by…

“Don’t wish for it, work for it.”

“If your dreams don’t scare you, they are too small.” – Richard Branson

“People who avoid failure also avoid success.” – Robert Kiyosaki

“Tough situations build strong people.”

“You will never always be motivated, so learn to be disciplined.”

“No one ever made a difference by being like everyone else.” – P.T. Barnum

“A negative mind will never give you a positive life.”

“Failure is not the opposite of success, it’s part of success.” – Arianna Huffington

“The best revenge is massive success.”

“Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom.” – George S. Patton

Related Post: How to be a Successful Teenager

Quotes About Fear

Fear is oftentimes what stops us from actually getting what we want. It’s not easy to overcome, but here are a few college graduation quotes to conquer fear…

“F.E.A.R. – False Evidence Appearing Real”

“Fear has large shadows, but he himself is small.” – Ruth Gendler

“The fears we don’t face become our limits.”

“Don’t fear failure. Fear being in the exact same place next year as you are today.”

“Fear is a choice.”

“Don’t be afraid to start all over again. You may like your new story better.”

“Never trust your fears. They don’t know your strength.” – Athena Singh

“Fear is temporary. Regret is forever.”

“Fear does not stop death, it stops life.”

“May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.” – Nelson Mandela

Quotes About Happiness

We should all strive towards happiness. I mean, what’s the point of life if we’re not happy or enjoying it right. Just understand that it takes time to get there. Here are a few happy quotes to prove it…

“Be happy with what you have. Be excited about what you want.” – Alan Cohen

“The key to being happy is knowing you have the power to choose what to accept and what to let go.” – Dodinsky

“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” – Dalai Lama

“Make happiness a priority and be gentle with yourself in the process.” – Bronnie Ware

“Enjoy life. There’s plenty of time to be dead.” – Hans Christian Andersen

“Just say yikes and move on.”

“Be somebody who makes everybody feel like a somebody.”

“If you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.” – Dolly Parton

“Happiness is more than doing fun things. It’s about doing meaningful things.” – Maxime Legacé

“Be happy. Not because everything is good, but because you can see the good in everything.”

Related Post: What to do After College Graduation

Quotes About Working Hard 

These college graduation quotes about working hard are necessary for you to push yourself to the max. It’s time to grind in order to get the future you deserve…

“The harder you work for something, the greater you’ll feel when you achieve it.”

“Nothing worth having comes easy.”

“The fruit of your own hard work is the sweetest.” – Deepika Padukone

“There are no secrets of success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” – Colin Powell

“Work hard in silence. Let success be the noise.”

“Don’t stop when you’re tired. Stop when you’re done.”

“A diamond is a chunk of coal that did well under pressure.” – Henry Kissinger

“Don’t decrease the goal. Increase the effort.”

“Trust your hard work. It’s unlocking doors that you can’t see.”

“There is no elevator to success. You have to take the stairs.”

“There are no traffic jams on the extra mile route.” – Zig Zaglar

Quotes About Love

Love is quite possibly the strongest emotion in our brain. If you learn to use it right, it will grant you with some pretty amazing things…

“You always gain by giving love.”

“There is no need to have it all. Just make best with what you have.”

“If you love life, life will love you back.”

“Love doesn’t need to be perfect, it just needs to be true.”

“Spread love wherever you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.” – Mother Teresa

“Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.” – Robert Brault

“The more grateful I am, the more beauty I see.” – Mary Davis

“If you truly love someone then the only thing you want for them is to be happy. Even if it’s not with you.”

“One word frees us of all the weight and pain in life. That word is love.”

“If they don’t scare the hell out of you a little, they’re not the one.”

Related Post: 10 Healthy Financial Habits for College Students

Quotes About Change

Without change, we can’t really become our true self. Some things require sacrifice and a big change in your normal life to make things happen. Use these to get out of your comfort zone…

“Only the wisest and stupidest of people never change.” –  Confucius

“Stop looking for happiness in the same place you lost it.”

“Be like a flower. Survive the rain , but use it to grow.”

“If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you.”

“You’re always one decision away from a totally different life.”

“If we don’t change, we don’t grow. If we don’t grow, we aren’t truly living.”

“Don’t be afraid of losing people. Be afraid of losing yourself trying to please others.”

“Great things never come from your comfort zone.”

“If you want to fly, you have to give up what weighs you down.”

“What you aren’t changing, you’re choosing. Remember that.”

College Graduation Quotes About Health

Health should always come first. Without it, there is no fun in living out your success and truly living happily. Use these health quotes to push yourself to take care of your body…

“Your body is a reflection of your lifestyle.”

“Take care of your body because it takes care of you everyday.”

“The greatest wealth is health.” – Virgil

“Health is like money. We never truly understand its value until we lose it.” – Josh Billings

“Health is the relationship between you and your body.”

“Slow progress is better than no progress.”

“Healthy is an outfit that looks different on everybody.”

“Every human being is the author of their own health and diseases.” – Buddha

“Making excuses burns zero calories.”

“If you’re tired, do it tired.”

Related Post: 20 College Graduation Gifts for Guys

Motivational College Graduation Quotes

For the last section, take these quotes with you from the end of college all the way to the end of life. These will motivate you to keep going…

“Success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It’s the courage to continue that counts.”

“Don’t look back. You’re not going that way.”

“We cannot become what we want by remaining who we are.”

“The only way to see results is by staying consistent.”

“One day or day one. You decide.”

“A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor.”

“When something is important enough, you do it. Even if the odds are not in your favor.” – Elon Musk

“The struggle you’re experiencing today is building your strength for tomorrow.”

“The secret to getting ahead is getting started.”

“Do it now. Sometimes saying ‘later’ becomes never.”

“If you feel like quitting, remember why you started.”

Hopefully these 100+ college graduation quotes have helped you learn a few lessons to start off your career the right way.

Congrats on graduating college! Good luck to you in your future. Carry these quotes with you until the end of the line.

If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions leave them down below. Thanks for reading!

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