Youth Quote Search

• Aspirations and Goals
• Imagining their future selves

“[At 45] A pretty little bank account; got a couple kids – just 2 of them.”

• Comparing and contrasting 'job' 'work' and 'career'
• Understanding Job/Work/Career

“Similar: jobs can prepare you for a career and in order to do this you have to work. Different.”

• Challenges and Barriers
• Lack of skills and competition

“[Pressure begins in] high school.”

• Perceptions of the term 'job'
• Understanding Job/Work/Career

“I put morning, money, every day, social expectations, social status, and then I put happy or sad because you can like or not like your job, and that can make a big difference.”

• Perceptions of the term 'career'
• Understanding Job/Work/Career

“When you have a career you can have a family.”

• Education
• Perceptions of college and postsecondary

“It is competitive. And also part of it too was like freshman year it was like I was THE freshman that got up to speak in x, y, z and people said you should run for this leadership position. You are going to lead our delegation and you are going to do all this stuff. I was THE sophomore who was taking all the AP classes and all this stuff, and so it was kind of like being told that I am destined for greatness and then being told that Harvard is greatness, which is like that gets re-instilled deeper and deeper into my mind as I am progressing. Finally, when college applications happen and you realize that it honestly kind of turns out to be a crap shoot. Honestly a friend of mine got into Harvard and not USC. It is totally crazy. It is so hard after the decisions happen to try to reframe your mind to go you know what? Actually, just because it is an Ivy League school does not mean that it is the definition of success.”

• Perceptions of the term 'career'
• Understanding Job/Work/Career

“Being an artist.”

• Aspirations and Goals
• Imagining their future selves

“I started off as senior in high school, and then after high school, I get a job or internship and then like for the summer. And then like after that summer I’ll go to college and get my like bachelor’s, master’s, and my Ph.D., stuff like that. And while I’m there, like network. And in between that, like the summers and stuff, I’ll get internships and like startup jobs and like always keep networking. Because I think like a big part of getting your name out there and getting started with a job is networking with other people and building that connection and like references and stuff like that. And then I just put my career…Like a physical therapist or like an athletic trainer for like colleges or high school…Just helping kids get to get back to how they were before they got injured. Because I know, because I played sports and stuff like that and just helping. Like you get injured. You want to get back to that highest level that you was at before you got injured. So just helping them get back and seeing like them satisfied with getting back to that level that they were at before. More like coaching and stuff like that.”

• Challenges and Barriers
• Lack of support

“One of my parents didn’t even finish high school.”

• Pathways
• Steps and stages

“So, I put own my own zoo at the end. Okay, so, start school, animal sciences, like major, and like veterinarian science and biology and minor in business management. But get degrees for animal science and business management by 27, and try like be a full on veterinarian, and leave Baltimore City, probably go somewhere like Maine or something like that. By 34, try to own like a small, like a local vet for real. Hire like friends and family member that got like the same passion…If my daughter has the same passion when she’s done with high school, she start college, she could like work in one of my shops as like an intern until she done with college. And by 45, try to have like a few small vets across the country. Manage and maintain my shops and the different clinics. Bring in stable money for real; just open like a small animal park somewhere in an important state like California or Florida, something like that…Then like a few years after that, probably by the time I’m like 60, 65, that’s when I’ll try to own my own zoo and retire, leave it to everybody.”