7 life lessons from this year's most memorable graduation speeches

My last piece of advice is the one I could have used the most. It took me a long time to learn. And it is this: You are not a slacker if you cut yourself some slack, said Bill Gates to the graduates of Northern Arizona University at their commencement ceremony on May 13.In his commencement speech, Gates shared that he didn't believe in vacations. Only as he got older, he realized that there is more to life than work.Don't wait as long as I did to learn this lesson. Take time to nurture your relationships, to celebrate your successes, and to recover from your losses, he added.What do you have to do? What do you want to do? Tomorrow is not promised. Make plans anyway, said the famous playwright, actor, and Hunter College High School alumnus Lin-Manuel Miranda to Hunter College graduates in his commencement speech on May 30, per The New York Post.You are opening doors. Shout, 'Here we are!' You're filling up days on a diamond. Keep choosing life and keep choosing connection. It will feel like you're running out of time. But in all likelihood, you've got plenty of time, said Miranda.'I come as one, I stand as 10,000' has been my mantra for power. Because for so many of my earlier years, I was the only woman, I was the only person of color, said famous talk show host Oprah Winfrey to the graduates at of her alma mater Tennessee State University at their commencement ceremony on May 6, per Oprah Daily.And at no time did I ever feel out of place, or not enough, or inadequate — or an impostor. Do not let the world make an impostor syndrome out of you. Why? Because I knew who I was, Winfrey said.Internally, knowing your limits keeps you humble, motivated, and focused on a goal to point your finger toward, said the Academy Award-winning actress Michelle Yeoh to the graduates of Harvard Law School during the commencement ceremony on May 24, per The Harvard Crimson.Externally, knowing the limits that are set for you by others gives you a place to point a different finger — I am talking about the middle one, she continued. For every winner, there doesn't have to be a loser. In fact, most success stories are less about competition and more about collaboration, said Yeoh. The truth is, I could not have done any of this alone.Time is the most valuable resource on the planet. Some people realize this sooner, and these are the lucky ones. Others realize it too late when they lose someone or something, said the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Johns Hopkins University's class of 2023 at their commencement ceremony on May 25, per CBS News.I'm certain you, as your forefathers did, will continue to lead the free world and this century will be our century, Zelenskyy said, a century where freedom, innovation and democratic values reign. A century where tyrannies that repress their own and seek to enslave their neighbors will vanish from earth once and for all. In the never-ending battle you have all officially joined as of today, the difference is in how truly you believe, in how vociferously you promote, in how tightly you hold onto the truth that is self-evident: that of course we are all created equally yet differently, and of course we are all in this together, said Hollywood veteran actor Tom Hanks to Harvard's Class of 2023 at the school's 372nd Commencement ceremony on May 25, per The Harvard Gazette.We are all in a cage match, mixed martial arts battle royale with agents of intolerance and braying incompetence, the malevolent equals to Imperial stormtroopers, Lex Luther, and Loki. And we could use a superhero right now, said Hanks.The fact of the matter is that today's world leaders have thus far failed miserably by putting selfish national interests ahead of urgent global needs, former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told graduates of Harvard Kennedy School on May 24, per Harvard Kennedy School.They have failed to see the big picture — that the world will sink or swim together — or they have decided to play a dangerous game of chicken — demanding that others do more to curb CO2 emissions, Ban said.I urge you to speak up and act, so that world leaders can muster the necessary political will, said Ban. It is up to your generation to fix what my generation failed to fix, Ban added.

7 life lessons from this year's most memorable graduation speeches

Billionaire Bill Gates said "you are not a slacker if you cut yourself some slack"

American songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda told graduates to "keep choosing life and keep choosing connection"

Oprah Winfrey advised graduates to "not let the world make an impostor syndrome out of you"

Oscar-winner Michelle Yeoh said "knowing your limits keeps you humble, motivated, and focused on a goal to point your finger toward"

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that "time is the most valuable resource on the planet"

Tom Hanks believes "we are all created equally yet differently, and of course we are all in this together"

Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urges graduates to "speak up and act, so that world leaders can muster the necessary political will"