Youth Quote Search

• Pathways
• Steps and stages

[By age 25] “I don’t know where I’ll be living, but, hopefully, I’ll still be in the military, depending on if I like it or not. But when I was talking with my recruiter about it, he’s like go in for four years or so, discover if you like it or not. And if you love it, then stay in the military. But if you don’t, you, I can retire from or leave the military, and they’ll pay for me to go to college, doing what I love to do. And if that happens, then I’ll probably go to Northwest University in Seattle…because I already got accepted. But then I decided like I can’t afford it right now, so I figured I’d go serve the country, so…Yeah, but I may like the military and not want to move on. So hopefully, I’ll like the military because it sounds great just from all the stories I hear of people who are in it.”

• Aspirations and Goals
• Inspiration and motivations

“My overall goal inspired me!”

• Aspirations and Goals
• Imagining their future selves

“I say I’m definitely going to be retired. I’m basically just going to, you know, I’d say I’d be traveling a lot, just enjoying my life, you know, with family members, friends, significant other, kids, spending times with grandparents, or grandsons or whatever.”

• Impact of teachers and non-familial adults
• Pathways

“I was on the field, and my coach was like screaming and yelling at the defensive line because they kept on running the same run play on us…And like kept on tossing the ball to the halfback, and they was just running. And they were out on five-wide set besides the single back, five-wide. And so every time it was just to the halfback. And I had to stay and cover it just in case he threw the ball. And so I skipped out the game plan. I called no hurry-up, and I told them I was like, I’m going to blitz. Everybody else stays and covers. And so I went and blitzed and caught him on that one play. And I made a fumble, but they recovered it…Yeah, coach pulled me to the sideline. He goes like nice play, like because they wasn’t expecting me to come out of coverage on a five-wide set…”

• Pathways
• Steps and stages

“My end goal is digital/web design…I have to complete my 4 years or my 3.5, I should say since I have already completed one semester. Then I have to get experience in the programs I am going to be using like Photoshop and all of that. Then I am going to have to network because in this field if you are not networking and figuring out who does what and how to get into it, you are not really going to kick start your career. Then you have to train and shadow in the field so that you know what you are doing.”

• Impact of family
• Pathways

“What I am going towards is what my dad is doing sort of. As long as you can support your life or your family or whatever, if you start a family – as long as you can do it just do it.”

• Pathways
• Steps and stages

“I said finish high school; start college at Cal State East Bay. At some point in my life and then go to the police academy. Finish college, then have a car, first house, police officer, marry the love of my life, have kids. Then I’m going to be an investigator.”

• Reflections on Focus Group Experience
• Takeaways

“I am thinking about my future and the goals I want to achieve.”

• Impact of family
• Pathways

“My mom just because she made me make good decisions in my life. I feel like if I didn’t have her – I have a dad but I am not as close with him as I am with my mom. My mom is like on my side.”

• Challenges and Barriers
• Naysayers and bullying

“Distractions. Like some of your friends, you might think they’re your friends, but they’re really a distraction to your life…Because, you know, you have like those friends that want to go out every weekend, but she trying to save for her photo shoot. She can’t save if she out.”