Are you a student looking for some short, inspirational quotes to help you strive harder?
As a student, you surely have felt pressured in one way or another. There is always that relative who asks when you will graduate, or a family friend who tells you that he was once an outstanding student.
It can feel like a burden when you feel expectations from everyone around you. It is as if you can’t even think about taking a break and resting for a while. Failure is not an option.
As a student, it’s important to understand that what you are feeling right now is just a part of the process. Failures, pressures, challenges—these are all things you need to go through in order to achieve success.
In this post, we’ve compiled 83 inspirational quotes about life and struggles for students. This list of motivational quotes will enable you to study well, strive hard, and be a better version of you.
We have broken these quotes into three categories: college, high school, and elementary. Whether you are a kid trying to understand the world, a teenager confused about what to do next, or a young adult looking for your purpose, these words of encouragement can help you find the answer.
First up, let’s start with young kids who are yet to explore life!
Inspirational Quotes for Kids and Elementary Students
- “Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at things in life that don’t really matter.” – Francis Chan
- “There is no elevator to success. You have to take the stairs.” – Zig Ziglar
- “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.” – Malcolm X
- “Indeed, the challenge of the new millennium is surely to find ways to achieve international – or better, intercommunity – cooperation wherein human diversity is acknowledged and the rights of all are respected.” – The Dalai Lama
- “There is always time to make right what is wrong.” – Susan Griffin
- “The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.” – Vidal Sassoon
- “Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.” – Frederick Douglass
- “I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver.” – Maya Angelou
- “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” – C.S. Lewis
- “Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world.” – Howard Zinn
- “If we are peaceful, if we are happy, we can blossom like a flower, and everyone in our family, our entire society, will benefit from peace.” – Archbishop Desmond Tutu
- “If you have no confidence in self, you are twice defeated in the race of life.” – Marcus Garvey
- “The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.” – Jimmy Johnson
- “Nothing can dim the light which shines from within.” – Maya Angelou
- “You receive from the world what you give to the world.” – Oprah Winfrey
- “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” – Les Brown
- “In a gentle way, you can shake the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi
- “People may look different or be dressed differently or may have a different education or position. But they are all the same. They are all people to be loved. They are all hungry for love.” – Mother Teresa
- “Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortune; but great minds rise above it.” – Washington Irving
- “Everybody can be great because everybody can serve.” – Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
- “All progress takes place outside of your comfort zone.” – Michael John Bobak
Being a kid is arguably one of the best parts of life. Everything seems to be so interesting—even learning and studying. Nothing seems to be wrong, and all you have to do is enjoy life at its fullest.
But as you grow older, you learn that life can be tough sometimes. Problems present themselves, and bad experiences arise on occasion. When that time comes, you need to be brave. And while you are at it, make sure that you get the most out of the experience.
This brings us to our next set of quotes…short yet inspiring quotes for high school students. If you feel like things are not falling into their respective places, keep the faith. You are on your way to success.
Motivational Quotes for High School Students
- “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. Don’t complain.” – Maya Angelou
- “Excellence is not a skill. It is an attitude.” – Ralph Marston
- “Good things come to people who wait, but better things come to those who go out and get them.” – Unknown
- “Your time is limited, don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living the result of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinion drowned your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition, they somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” – Steve Jobs
- “Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.” – Jim Ryun
- “Education means emancipation. It means light and liberty. It means the uplifting of the soul of man into the glorious light of truth, the light by which men can only be made free.” – Frederick Douglass
- “What makes greatness is starting something that lives after you.” – Ralph Sockman
- “You’re braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” – Christopher Robin
- “If you don’t go after what you want, you’ll never have it. If you don’t ask, the answer is always no. If you don’t step forward, you’re always in the same place.” – Nora Roberts
- “So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable.” – Christopher Reeve
- “Everyone wants a voice in human freedom. There’s a fire burning inside of all of us.” – Lech Walesa
- “When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.” – Alexander Graham Bell
- “Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside you that is greater than any obstacle.” – Christian D. Larson
- “If you join a fight for social justice you may win or lose, but just by being part of the struggle, you win, and your life will be better for it.” – Howard Zinn
- “The new definition of freedom today is self-determination.” – John Hope Bryant
- “The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existence. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery each day. Never lose a holy curiosity. … Don’t stop to marvel.” – Albert Einstein
The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existence. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery each day. Never lose a holy curiosity. … Don’t stop to marvel.” – Albert Einstein
- “Accept and acknowledge your own brilliance. Stop waiting for others to tell you how great you are! Believe it for yourself and about yourself.” – Iyanla Vanzant
- “If there is something you care about, make a commitment to do something now- starting with today. And choose to live a meaningful and purpose-driven life where you care about people and issues that are much greater than yourself.” – Evangeline Mitchell
- “I wish you power that equals your intelligence and your strength. I wish you success that equals your talent and determination. And I wish you faith.” – Betty Shabazz
- “You lose nothing when fighting for a cause… In my mind the losers are those who don’t have a cause they care about.” – Muhammad Ali
- “Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.” – Mark Twain
If childhood is life’s most fun period, the teenage years are probably the most exciting. You get to explore things that you were not allowed to discover when you were younger, and you are exposed to new experiences.
But with that freedom also comes more responsibility. Life becomes bigger, but also more work. Fortunately, every little thing that comes your way is all part of the process. Keep believing in yourself. That way, when you are through your teenage years, you will be equipped to face young adulthood with fervor and valor.
Our last set of quotes include wonderful words of encouragement for college students—those who are ready to take on life’s bigger challenges. It is not easy to step into the first stages of adulthood, but there is no need to worry—you are bound for greatness.
Inspirational Quotes for Students in College
- “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” – Mohandas Gandhi
- “It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.” – Edmund Hillary
- “Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” – John Wooden
- “We owe it to ourselves and to the next generation to conserve the environment so that we can bequeath our children a sustainable world that benefits all.” – Dr. Wangari Maathai
- “While one may encounter many defeats, one must not be defeated.” – Maya Angelou
- “Striving for success without hard work is like trying to harvest where you haven’t planted.” – David Bly
- “Strive for progress, not perfection.” – Unknown
- “We were not born with the unhealthy habits we carry. We had to learn them. So we can unlearn them, and help others do the same.” – Riane Eisler
- “Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity.” – Horace Mann
- “Successful and unsuccessful people do not vary greatly in their abilities. They vary in their desires to reach their potential.” – John Maxwell
- “There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.” – Beverly Sills
- “Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michaelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein.” – Jackson Brown Jr.
- “Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.” – Henry Ford
- “Nobody can give you freedom. Nobody can give you equality or justice or anything. If you’re a man, you take it.” – Malcolm X
- “There are those who work all day, those who dream all day, and those who spend an hour dreaming before setting to work to fulfill those dreams. Go into the third category because there’s virtually no competition.” – Steven J. Ross
- “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” – Thomas A. Edison
- “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
- “You’ve got to get up every morning with determination if you’re going to go to bed with satisfaction.” – George Lorimer
- “Procrastination is the thief of time.” – Edward Young
- “There is no secret to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” – General Colin Powell
- “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day-in, and day-out.” – Robert Collier
- “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” – Dr. Seuss
- “Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” – John F. Kennedy
- “Wisdom comes not from age, but from imagination and learning.” – Anton Chekhov
- “Success is not final; failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill
Success is not final; failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill
- “Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success.” – Dale Carnegie
- “Goal setting is the secret to a compelling future.” – Tony Robbins
- “The most difficult thing is the decision to act; the rest is merely tenacity.” – Amelia Earhart
- “The elevator to success is out of order. You’ll have to use the stairs, one step at a time.” – Joe Girard
- “The beautiful thing about learning is that nobody can take it away from you.” – B.B. King
- “You can’t have a better tomorrow if you’re still thinking about yesterday.” – Charles F. Kettering
- “Ninety-nine percent of the failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses.” – George Washington Carver
- “Optimism is a happiness magnet. If you stay positive, good things and good people will be drawn to you.” – Mary Lou Retton
- “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been given a no. Only to find that a better, brighter, bigger yes was right around the corner.” – Arlan Hamilton
- “We need to accept that we won’t always make the right decisions, that we’ll screw up royally sometimes – understanding that failure is not the opposite of success, it’s part of success.” – Ariana Huffington
We need to accept that we won’t always make the right decisions, that we’ll screw up royally sometimes – understanding that failure is not the opposite of success, it’s part of success.” – Ariana Huffington
- “Be patient with yourself. Self-growth is tender; it’s holy ground. There’s no greater investment.” – Stephen Covey
- “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” – Thomas Edison
- “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.” – Henry Ford
- “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” – Mahatma Gandhi
- “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
- “If you are working on something that you really care about, you don’t have to be pushed. The vision pulls you.” – Steve Jobs
Final Words
Student life is never easy—the education process takes a lot of time and effort. You need to learn how to persevere and manage your time wisely in order to succeed.
Even when things are going tough, you have to keep believing in yourself. Don’t lose faith t hat you can achieve your dreams and become the best that you can be.
We hope that the quotes we shared above were able to motivate and inspire you to study even harder. We know that you are already doing your best, but when difficult moments come and you feel like you are about to give up, just remember why you started in the first place.
Did any of the quotes resonate with you? We’d like to know which one! Feel free to share your thoughts through the comment field below.
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There is no shortcut to success, so keep trying and keep believing. Always aim to be the best version of you!
And if you want more inspirational quotes, be sure to check out these blog posts:
- 35 Inspirational Have a Great Day Quotes and Sayings
- 73 Inspirational You Are Amazing Quotes
- 71 Quotes About Loving Yourself First
Finally, if you want to use these quotes to make a lasting change to your life, then check out and recite these 57 affirmations for success.
