- Attributes and characteristics
- Describing Identity
“I put optimistic, open-minded, cautious, risk-taker, smart, planner.”
Participant:
- Chicago, IL
- Black
- male
- 15-22
- higher income
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.
- Education
- Perceptions of college and postsecondary
“They liked the party lifestyle but they also said make sure you don’t get off track with your studies.”
Participant:
- Online
- Black
- female
- 15-22
- lower income
- Entrepreneurship
- Perceptions of entrepreneurship
“I want to build a bunch of houses for the homeless, sustain an organic lifestyle, honestly. Be a CEO of a couple businesses and then sell my businesses.”
Participant:
- Pueblo, CO
- Hispanic
- male
- 15-22
- lower income
- Describing Identity
- Race, ethnicity, gender, culture
“Hispanic. Spiritual.”
Participant:
- Online
- Hispanic
- female
- 15-22
- lower income
- Challenges and Barriers
- Discrimination and Bias
“Being white limits me. This world is extremely racist towards white men. It gets worse every day. So when I’m 40, I think it will definitely limit my success. I see no benefit right now. I feel like it limits me in every way unfortunately.”
Participant:
- Online
- white
- male
- 15-22
- lower income
- Challenges and Barriers
- Death, loss and uncertainty
“Well, family illness or deaths, like sudden deaths. Because last semester I lost my cousin in a matter of three weeks time. He had cancer. So like that took a big toll on my first semester at Towson. And I was…I just didn’t want to be there no more. So like his being in school, that can build a big burn on some people, or like personal illness or injuries. Like you can think you look healthy one day, and kind of paralyzed the next day, not even knowing something wrong with your body. You could seem fine, not know.”
Participant:
- Baltimore, MD
- Black
- female
- 15-22
- higher income
- Impact of personal attributes and characteristics
- Pathways
“Being loyal”
Participant:
- Belle Glade, FL
- Hispanic
- female
- 15-22
- lower income
- Characterizations of a bad job
- Understanding Job/Work/Career
“I don’t go to school, and I work for a solar company in Denver called [Company]. I go door to door selling solar. [It’s] rough. People are just angry these days most of the time. They are mad at solicitors.”
Participant:
- Pueblo, CO
- Hispanic
- male
- 15-22
- lower income
- Impact of personal attributes and characteristics
- Pathways
“Yesterday I described myself as unique. I feel like being unique positively helped me through the pathway because it helped me overcome challenges.”
Participant:
- Online
- Black
- female
- 15-22
- lower income
- Education
- Perceptions of college and postsecondary
“Before I went to college I had the intent of studying English to become a teacher and eventually a professor. [Did that change while you were in college?] Yes, I still majored in English but I realized that there were a number of different career paths I could take with that degree. [How did you come to realize there were different career paths you could take?] By talking with other English majors at Berkeley who’d had different internships. I also interned with the Golden State Warriors and met a lot of employees who worked in sports but had majored in Anthropology, History, Art, etc. I realized that it was more about the connections you have and less about what you major in.”
Participant:
- Online
- white
- male
- 26-29
- mixed income