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. 

  • Perceptions of the term 'social capital'
  • Relationships, Connections & Networking

“Basically, we are tight. If I need something, you might support me because we are cool.”

Participant:

  • Oakland, CA
  • Black
  • male
  • 15-22
  • mixed income
  • Perceptions of the term 'job'
  • Understanding Job/Work/Career

[For “job”] “Short term, long term, career, money.”

Participant:

  • New York, NY
  • Hispanic
  • male
  • 15-22
  • higher income
  • Aspirations and Goals
  • Imagining their future selves

“So the first college degree I’m going for is the HVAC program, the heating and ventilation. And then I’m going to go back and get my automotive one because I like working on cars.”

Participant:

  • Yakima, WA
  • Hispanic
  • male
  • 15-22
  • lower income
  • Comparing and contrasting 'job' 'work' and 'career'
  • Understanding Job/Work/Career

“So when the first I wrote down when I looked at the word work was field because my parents have worked in the field, and my grandparents worked in the fields. And that’s like the hardest work that’s out there. Yeah, just it’s a big difference between work and a job.”

Participant:

  • Yakima, WA
  • Hispanic
  • male
  • 15-22
  • lower income
  • Attributes and characteristics
  • Describing Identity

“I put passionate, driven, school focused, and goal focused.”

Participant:

  • Yakima, WA
  • Hispanic
  • male
  • 15-22
  • lower income
  • Perceptions of the term 'mentor'
  • Relationships, Connections & Networking

“A role model.”

Participant:

  • Oakland, CA
  • Black
  • male
  • 15-22
  • mixed income
  • Impact of family
  • Pathways

“Parents, siblings, girlfriend/wife, friends, people involved in the arts.”

Participant:

  • Online
  • white
  • male
  • 26-29
  • mixed income
  • Characterizations of a bad job
  • Understanding Job/Work/Career

“Maybe not so much focus on U.S. Sugar and those jobs. And when they come for job fairs, it is hey look it is U.S. Sugar and all these grants is free with Sugar. Not everyone wants to work at U.S. Sugar.”

Participant:

  • Belle Glade, FL
  • Hispanic
  • female
  • 15-22
  • lower income
  • Attributes and characteristics
  • Describing Identity

“Positive, you know, person to be around, motivated, because I want to see you do good…I’m not the type that I just praise you to be good. It just don’t…I still want to be good, just not.”

Participant:

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

“Long term.”

Participant:

  • Online
  • white
  • male
  • 15-22
  • lower income