What do all high school graduation ceremonies have in common? Besides the processional, the songs, and the diplomas, all commencement exercises have speeches. Should you find yourself in the role of commencement speaker, these ten quotes may help you to either come up with a topic or enliven your speech in some way.
Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire. William Butler Yeats, the late 19th and early 20th century Irish poet and playwright, wrote this definition of education. This is a quote that is certain to resonate with teachers, if not their students.
Life is a succession of lessons, which must be lived to be understood. Graduating seniors are about to embark on a lifetime of experiences. This quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson, the 19th century American poet, essayist, and philosopher, speaks of what is to come in their adult lives.
And all the wonder that could be. This verse by the Victorian English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson could be a good introduction to a speech about the vistas awaiting the graduating senior.
Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present. The Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus wrote this appeal for reason in his Meditations written almost 2000 years ago. The future is uncertain to many a senior. This statement reminds them that they can think through many problems that may face them.
First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do. Epictetus was born in 55 A. D. to Greek parents, but became a Roman slave and later a Stoic philosopher. This is one of the best known of his quotes and would be an inspiring thought to add to your commencement address.
If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door. This bit of encouragement came from the comedian Milton Berle who may have had to build a few doors of his own on his way to stardom.
Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them to become what they are capable of being. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German playwright who lived from 1749 to 1832. Hopefully, the graduating senior will have grown under this kind of nurturing care. In any event, this is good advice for future relationships.
Now is the accepted time, not tomorrow, not some more convenient season. It is today that our best work can be done and not some future day or future year. It is today that we fit ourselves for the greater usefulness of tomorrow. Today is the seed time, now are the hours of work, and tomorrow comes the harvest and the play time. One of the early pioneers of the black civil rights movement, W. E. B. Du Bois was speaking here of the labor he and others were investing in working toward their goals but this advice can be applied to the future plans and dreams of the graduating high school class.
Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose. High school graduation is a time of reflection over the years that have passed and an acknowledgment of the enormous changes that are about to occur in the graduate's life. This reflection came from the show The Wonder Years, which played on American television from 1988 to 1993.
May the sun shine, all the day long, everything go right, and nothing wrong. May those you love bring love back to you and may all the wishes you wish come true. An Irish blessing completes this list of quotes. These good wishes would be perfect as a conclusion to a high school graduation speech.
High school graduation is a time for speeches, diplomas, and memories. May the speeches you hear or deliver be inspirational and reflective.
