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.
[What “work” brings to mind] “I pretty much relate [job and work]. Like if this, if work wasn’t an option, I would put work under job. So going off a little…she say, I think career and job are two different things in my eyes. A job is something you got to do. To me, career is something you want to do.”
“Respectful. That is just how my mom made me…I’ve always lived in that way. Even with teachers sometimes in high school I will see a student disrespect the teacher. How can you do that? Would you do that to your mom? I wouldn’t do that. I would not go that way. Yeah. I respect everybody. I have to have a lot of patience with customers at work. Even if they are being rude to me, I can’t do anything about it. I am not going to risk my job for them just to talk back or say something back. I can’t do that.”
“I make, I set my own schedules. I say who I want to service because not everybody deserves to be serviced at my shop just because of the attitude and the feel and the obligation that they feel I have to them because, in my own right, I am still a person. And I deal with the behind the scenes of running the shop.”
“Really, my papaw tell me this is the best-paying job in Greenville. You know, you really need to focus on this and take it serious.”
“It does [not] really impact my goals or career at all honestly. I try to steer away from any ignorance when it regards my race. I look at myself just as a human being or any other person, but no it hasn’t impacted my job, work or career at all.”
“I hope to get all of the training I need for the career I have chosen.”
“I think, you know, like you went to college for it, and so, you know, it’s what you, exactly you want to do.”
“I felt perfectly set-up for success with my career. My program offered countless opportunities to get involved, network, meet working professionals, get summer internships, etc.”
“[With regards to work-related relationships] Like he said, don’t burn your bridges. For example, you may never think this but, for example, say you are in middle school and you get into an argument with some kid but now you find out that little kid’s dad owns some place that you would want to work and now you can’t. You just burned your bridge because you were on bad terms with someone.”
“Interviews.”