Yearbook quotes are harder to write than they look. You've got one page, one photo, and one sentence to sum up four years — or twelve, or eighteen. No pressure. The best ones don't try to sum up everything. They're specific, honest, or funny enough that your classmates remember them ten years later when they pull the book off a shelf.

We've pulled together 60+ yearbook quotes organized by mood and category. Use them as-is, tweak them, or let them spark the idea for your own. And if you're turning your school years into a social yearbook photo book, these captions work just as well on the pages as they do under your senior photo.

Funny yearbook quotes

Humor ages well in yearbooks. Your teachers will pretend not to laugh. Your parents will definitely show this to everyone. The trick is a quote that's specific enough to feel genuine but universal enough that classmates get it immediately.

• "I came. I saw. I made it awkward."
• "Finally, a diploma I can blame my problems on."
• "I'm not lazy. I'm on energy-saving mode."
• "I spent 13 years here and all I got was this picture."
• "I would like to thank coffee, the snooze button, and denial."
• "They said I could be anything, so I became a problem."
• "I peaked in... honestly, I'm still working on it."
• "Netflix and diploma."
• "Alexa, skip senior year."
• "I was told there would be snacks."
• "My parents said I could do anything, so I did the minimum."
• "Four years of school to end up Googling everything anyway."
• "Please silence your phones, including mine."
• "I survived. That's the whole quote."
• "See you on LinkedIn. Unfortunately."

Planning a class group photo book? My Social Book pulls photos directly from your Facebook or Instagram — class trips, prom, football games, the weird hallway selfies — and builds a chronological book with dates and captions already attached. You don't have to sort through thousands of pictures manually. Start your free preview here.

Inspirational yearbook quotes

Some people genuinely want to go out on a meaningful note. No shame in that. These quotes lean toward aspiration without tipping into cliche. They work best when you actually believe what you're writing.

• "Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can." — Arthur Ashe
• "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." — Eleanor Roosevelt
• "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." — Theodore Roosevelt
• "It always seems impossible until it's done." — Nelson Mandela
• "Don't watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going." — Sam Levenson
• "The only way to do great work is to love what you do." — Steve Jobs
• "In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on." — Robert Frost
• "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away."
• "Be yourself; everyone else is taken." — Oscar Wilde
• "You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." — A.A. Milne
• "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." — Ralph Waldo Emerson
• "The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now." — Chinese Proverb
• "Don't count the days; make the days count." — Muhammad Ali

Yearbook quotes about friendship

Your best school memories probably involve specific people. These quotes are for the group shots, the inside jokes, and the friends you've had since third grade or met on the first day of freshman year.

• "Good friends are like stars. You don't always see them, but you know they're always there."
• "A friend is someone who knows all about you and still likes you." — Elbert Hubbard
• "Some people arrive and make such a beautiful impact on your life, you can barely remember what life was like without them." — Anna Taylor
• "Friends are the family we choose for ourselves."
• "Real friendship is when your friend comes over to your house just to take a nap."
• "It's not what we have in life, but who we have in our life that matters."
• "No road is long with good company." — Turkish Proverb
• "Best friends: it's a promise, not a label."
• "We'll be friends until we're old and senile. Then we'll be new friends."
• "Side by side or miles apart, real friends are always close to the heart."
• "She's my person. If I murdered someone, she's the one I'd call to help me drag the body across the floor." — Grey's Anatomy

If you and your friends have been posting together on Facebook or Instagram throughout high school, My Social Book can turn those posts into an actual social yearbook. It picks up the photos, dates, captions, and likes — the whole context of the year, not just the posed photos. Check out the social yearbook option here.

Senior quotes

Senior quotes hit differently because they're final. You're not just picking something clever — you're picking what you want the class of your year to remember you by. These skew slightly more personal.

• "Here's to the nights we felt alive."
• "She believed she could, so she did."
• "I made it to the end credits."
• "Not all those who wander are lost." — J.R.R. Tolkien
• "I took the road less traveled. Now I have no idea where I am."
• "The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page." — St. Augustine
• "Whatever you are, be a good one." — Abraham Lincoln
• "The adventure begins."
• "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams." — Henry David Thoreau
• "Dream big, work hard, stay humble."
• "It was a good run."
• "Thank you, next."
• "Still working on myself, by myself, for myself."

Short yearbook captions

Sometimes one line is the whole move. These are tight enough to work under a photo without needing any setup.

• "Chapter closed."
• "To be continued."
• "Plot twist incoming."
• "Worth it."
• "Barely."
• "We made it out."
• "Just getting started."
• "Already nostalgic."
• "Class dismissed."
• "Good riddance and good luck."
• "Here's to everything after this."
• "The recap will be a lot more fun than the event."

How a photo book turns into a social yearbook

School yearbooks cover the official stuff: class photos, clubs, sports. What they miss is the texture — the random Tuesday lunch photo, the trip where everything went wrong in the best way, the group chat energy that a photographer couldn't capture. That's what a social yearbook does differently.

My Social Book connects to your Facebook or Instagram account, pulls your posts in chronological order, and builds a book that reads like an honest record of the year. Every photo comes with the original date, caption, and likes. No uploading. No layout work. You preview it, adjust anything you want, and order.

Books run from 25 to 450 pages, so even a four-year span fits. Pricing starts at affordable levels with frequent discounts — see the full details when you start your free preview.

Related: How to pick the right photo book maker

Frequently asked questions

What are some good yearbook quotes for seniors?

The best senior quotes are either genuinely funny, genuinely personal, or both. Avoid anything that requires explanation. If you need a footnote, the quote doesn't work on a page. Short quotes like "It was a good run" or "To be continued" often land harder than longer ones. If you want something with more weight, Robert Frost's "It goes on" covers a lot of ground in three words.

Can I use song lyrics as a yearbook quote?

Most schools allow it as long as you don't include anything inappropriate. Attribute it correctly with the artist name. Song lyrics date quickly — what's on the charts this year may feel odd in a decade. Quotes from books, films, and speeches tend to hold up longer in printed yearbooks.

How do I turn my school memories into a photo book?

If you've been posting throughout your school years on Facebook or Instagram, My Social Book can build a photo book from those posts automatically. Connect your account, preview the result, and order. The book includes original dates, captions, and likes from your posts. It works as a personal social yearbook to complement the official school edition.

What's the difference between a yearbook quote and a yearbook caption?

A yearbook quote typically sits under your individual senior photo — it's a standalone statement. A caption describes a specific group photo or event page. Captions are usually shorter and tied to context ("Junior prom, March 2025"). Quotes are more freestanding and personal.

How long should a yearbook quote be?

Short. One to two lines is the standard. Anything over 30 words tends to get cut by the yearbook editor anyway, and long quotes rarely have the punch that short ones do. If you can't land it in two lines, cut it down until you can.

Start your free social yearbook preview — connect your Facebook or Instagram and see how your school years look as a real book.

Related reading

• Yearbook ideas
• Inspirational yearbook quotes