As soon as thousands of southwest Michigan graduates are finished with turning their tassels this weekend, they will undoubtedly be offered no end of wisdom from everyone they meet.

From graduation speakers to teachers, parents to older friends, everyone will have some piece of advice to impart, and while the inclination may be to shrug off their suggestions, these young people would be wise to heed their warnings.

Some of the most successful men and women in recent history have spoken at graduations throughout the U.S., offering words of encouragement, life lessons and advice for the next generation. Rather than stringing together my own list of clichés (live your dream, grab life by the reins, carpe diem!), I thought I’d let these renowned celebrities share their own wisdom. Here are some of my favorites:

• “Being your own story means you can always choose the tone. It also means that you can invent the language to say who you are and what you mean … I see your life as already artful, waiting, just waiting and ready for you to make it art.” — Toni Morrison, Wellesley College (2004)

• “I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.” — Steve Jobs, Stanford University (2005)

• “I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me. Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged.” — J. K. Rowling, Harvard University (2008)

• “Don’t just get involved. Fight for your seat at the table. Better yet, fight for a seat at the head of the table.” — President Barack Obama, Barnard (2012)

• “What’s the big idea? What’s your big idea? What are you willing to spend your moral capital, your intellectual capital, your cash, your sweat equity in pursuing outside of the walls of the University of Pennsylvania? The world is more malleable than you think and it’s waiting for you to hammer it into shape.” — Bono, University of Pennsylvania (2004)

“I can assure that awards have very little bearing on my own personal happiness. My own sense of well-being and purpose in the world. That comes from studying the world feelingly, with empathy in my work. It comes from staying alert and alive and involved in the lives of the people that I love and the people in the wider world who need my help.” — Meryl Streep, Barnard (2010)

Students in the class of 2018, we are so proud of your accomplishments thus far and excited to see all the wonderful things you will do.