16 of the best graduation speeches of all time

Many commencement speeches are forgettable. A lot are filled with the same cliché advice. But some are so good - so inspiring and poignant - that they stick with us forever.

While certainly there's room for debate (was Stephen Colbert's speech at Northwestern really better than the one he gave at Knox College?), we've culled the best-of lists to put together a guide to our favorites.

From Steve Jobs to Toni Morrison, Kurt Vonnegut to John F. Kennedy, here are the speeches you wish you'd heard on your graduation day.

Rachel Sugar contributed to an earlier version of this article.