Web Finds: Humans of New York

I asked my friend whether or not he liked to read blogs. This was obviously to test if he would genuinely enjoy mine. He said no. Disappointed, I asked him if he liked any blogs out there. To which he responded with "yeah. Humans of New York." So I opened it, unaware that I would be stumbling into one of the most simple yet beautiful blogs on the interweb. The concept is simple. Photographer Brandon takes pictures of people on the streets of New York, and the he asks them general questions like, "What was the saddest/happiest moment of your life?" or "What message would you like to tell people?" and make a conversation about their lives. The pictures are all beautifully shot, and each quote, no matter how short, gives these people life. It reminds you that everyone out there, yes, those people that you diss on the freeway, those people that you shove when lining up in the grocery store, those people that you help out with directions, they all have a story. They have a life that you will never know about, they have stories that you will never have the privilege to hear, and they have scars that you will never see. They laugh at things you don't find funny, and they were born under circumstances you wouldn't believe. Humans of New York reminds me that everyone out there, those strangers, they have their own world that I will never be a part of.

Lets get to it:

"I’m going home to see my mother."
“Oh, is it her birthday?"
“Nope. I just love my mother, and she loves flowers."

I asked them to tell me the happiest moment of their lives. The first kid said: “When I met my real dad." Suddenly doubtful of the gravity of his response, the second kid replied a bit sheepishly: “When I got my first computer."

"My mom moved to New York, and left me in Jamaica from the age of 5 to 13. I was angry with her when I finally got here, but things are fine now."
"Did you have any siblings?"
"A younger brother. She brought him with her."
"Why didn’t she bring you too?"
"Honestly, I’ve never wanted to ask."

I found these two walking arm-in-arm, ever-so-slowly, up a staircase in the subway station. When I asked for a photo, they posed just like this.
"Is this your mother or grandmother?" I asked.
"Oh no," he said. “I just met her on the train."

"What was the scariest moment of your life?"
"Iraq, in ‘05."
"What happened?"
"I don’t like to talk about that."

I asked his favorite thing about his son, and he replied: “That he’s very loving." Hearing this, the boy asked:
"What about basketball?"
The dad answered: “I like that you’re good at basketball. But my favorite thing is that you’re very loving."

"Right now I’m not even sure if college is for me."
"Why’s that?"
"Well, I’m going to sound a bit like a hippy… but everyone tells you to ‘follow your own path,’ then you’re put into an institution where you’re funneled down these predetermined tracks. Then you’re packaged up and regurgitated back into society. Like you’re a GI Joe. Or a Barbie."

"I was sixteen and raising myself. My friends gave me money just to drive the car. It seemed safe."

"Do you remember the happiest moment of your life?"
"Yep. My 15th birthday."
"What happened?"
"It was a month before my mom passed away. She pretended like she’d forgotten my birthday, and didn’t say anything to me all morning. I was so mad that day at school. But when I got home, she’d made this huge cake for me. I was so happy."

"If you could give one piece of advice to a large group of people, what would it be?"
"Be yourself."

"What’s the funniest thing you’ve seen on this block?"
"Probably that time the crackhead was running from the cops in his slippers. He wasn’t even running really, he was skiing. "

"What was the saddest moment of your life?"
"When I got taken away from my mom when I was six."
"Do you still speak with her?"
"Honestly, I wouldn’t even know what to say to her. I don’t even remember her face. But I remember that day."

"I’m an artist."
“Any advice for someone who wants to be an artist?"
“You either need to be extremely talented or have rich parents."

I took this photo just a few minutes ago. She was sitting outside of a bar. As I photographed her, she kept inhaling deeply, then exhaling slowly. “Man," I thought, “I’m really annoying this girl." Until…
"What was the saddest moment of your life?"
"Right now."
"What happened?"
"The person I love wants to take a break. He’s still inside."

"We just graduated."
"So what’s the craziest thing you learned in high school?"
"Choose your friends wisely."
"Mind your own business."
"Trig."

"Follow your heart."
"And where has that taken you?"
"Exotic climates."
"Such as?"
"Well I leave in three days to return to Kabul, where I’m currently stationed. Before that, it was Iraq for three years. Then Burundi. Then South Africa, where I was Nelson Mandela’s legal advisor."

"You know the scariest drug I ever did?"
"What’s that?"
"Sobriety. I tried that shit, and suddenly I realized that my girlfriend was insane and all my friends were assholes."

"Eventually I had to learn that I couldn’t make everyone happy. At one point— I had the degree I wanted, the job I wanted, and the wife I wanted, but part of me was still unhappy because I felt that I was falling short of my parents’ expectations. I had to learn to put me first."

"What’s your favorite thing about your dad?"
"He works really hard outside. But after that, he still rides bikes with me."

"All these kids are getting in trouble because parents aren’t even allowed to discipline their children anymore. When I was growing up, if you did something wrong, you’d get whooped. Once I stole $5 from my aunt. I got whooped by my aunt, whooped by my mom, and whooped by my dad. That was three whoopings for $5. I never stole again."