Youth Quote Search

Welcome to the Striving to Thriving Youth Quote Library. Here you’ll find a curated collection of more than 5,700 quotes from young people ages 15-22 living in communities across the United States. In the library you can see how young people describe their multifaceted identities, how they understand and apply meaning to language around job, work and career, how they think about and assign value to relationships, networking and connections, and their future goals and the education and career choices they believe will lead them there. You can also view additional notes on curation, categories and filters. 

  • Impact of race, ethnicity, gender, culture
  • Pathways

“Being white helps me. Because people seem to profile colored people more than white people. There are far too many racist people out there.”

Participant:

  • Online
  • white
  • female
  • 15-22
  • lower income
  • Pathways
  • Steps and stages

“But like I’m studying…theatrical conservatory for CH management, but I think I want to work in television.”

Participant:

  • New York, NY
  • white
  • female
  • 15-22
  • lower income
  • Perceptions of the term 'job'
  • Understanding Job/Work/Career

“Taxes.”

Participant:

  • Online
  • Black
  • female
  • 26-29
  • mixed income
  • Aspirations and Goals
  • Imagining their future selves

[At 70] “The only time I could see I’m working is on…my fishing pole…I’m working on something. I might start knitting.”

Participant:

  • New Orleans, LA
  • Black
  • male
  • 15-22
  • lower income
  • Perceptions of the term 'work'
  • Understanding Job/Work/Career

“Long. Boring. 9-5.”

Participant:

  • Online
  • Black
  • male
  • 26-29
  • mixed income
  • Describing Identity
  • Race, ethnicity, gender, culture

“This is going to sound bad, but I’m not dark colored so they don’t really associate me with being Mexican.”

Participant:

  • Pueblo, CO
  • Hispanic
  • female
  • 15-22
  • lower income
  • Perceptions of the term 'job'
  • Understanding Job/Work/Career

[On “job”] “Like a job is like – a job. You just might have a job, but that’s not really what you want to do. That’s what get you through what you really trying to do.”

Participant:

  • Baltimore, MD
  • Black
  • male
  • 15-22
  • lower income
  • Challenges and Barriers
  • Naysayers and bullying

“Don’t let it get to you.”

Participant:

  • Chicago, IL
  • Black
  • male
  • 15-22
  • lower income
  • Impact of family
  • Pathways

“Well, you always got to work hard. I don’t know. It’s something my dad used to always tell me growing up; a man is defined by his work.”

Participant:

  • Yakima, WA
  • Hispanic
  • male
  • 15-22
  • lower income
  • Impact of personal attributes and characteristics
  • Pathways

“Being creative has gotten me to my path point today because with all the creativeness I do in my barbershop it sticks to the employees allowing them to be more creative themselves when doing or creating something for the barbershop. Even the clients see our creativity and always compliment us for it because it brightens the barbershop up.”

Participant:

  • Online
  • Hispanic
  • female
  • 26-29
  • mixed income