Brandon Stanton's Blog, page 151

“This is the farthest that I’ve ever...

“This is the farthest that I’ve ever ridden!”

(Buenos Aires, Argentina)

“I’m looking for a tall man. 85 to 90 years old. Preferably a...

“I’m looking for a tall man. 85 to 90 years old. Preferably a professional. Needs to have a good mood. But other than that I’m pretty open. If you know anybody, let me know.”

(Buenos Aires, Argentina)

“When I was younger, I’d always leave the house dressed like a...

“When I was younger, I’d always leave the house dressed like a man, but then I’d change my clothes. My mother told me the devil was in me. My father said that I was useless. They even took me to the doctor to find out what was going on. But my grandfather always supported me. He was more open-minded than my parents. I think it’s because he worked at a 24 hour restaurant and met all the people who came out at night. Even when I was a child, he’d see the clothes I wore, and he’d tell me: ‘If you were a girl, you’d be very beautiful.’ When I finally told him everything I was feeling, he said: ‘You’re a great person, and I’ll never be afraid of what’s going on with you.’”

(Buenos Aires, Argentina)

“I didn’t want to be a mother. I was eighteen. We weren’t in...

“I didn’t want to be a mother. I was eighteen. We weren’t in love. I had goals I wanted to accomplish. So I made the hardest decision of my life. It’s not legal here. So I researched it on the Internet. I did it myself. In my room. If things had gone wrong, I could have died. Seeing it come out of me was the worst moment of my life. And I couldn’t tell anyone. Not even my parents. So I carried the secret with me. I felt like this thing was always in my chest, but it was stuck there. All day I’d act normal. Then at night I’d go to my room and cry.”

(Buenos Aires, Argentina)

“I wrote her the message while I was lying in my bed. It said:...

“I wrote her the message while I was lying in my bed. It said: ‘I don’t want to go too fast, but will you be my girlfriend?’ After I hit ‘send,’ I was so nervous that I laid the phone down next to me. I couldn’t even look at the screen. My nose was sweating. After two minutes, I saw it vibrate. I picked it up, and it said: ‘Yes!’ I felt so good. It felt like killing five characters at one time in League of Legends. These last five days have been magic. I feel so happy and nervous at the same time. This is my first girlfriend so I don’t even know what to do. I don’t know what to talk about. I don’t even know how to sit.”

(Buenos Aires, Argentina)

“I can do all the same things as my wife except for the milk...

“I can do all the same things as my wife except for the milk part. And I try to make up for that by reading a lot of stories and showing her my vinyl collection.”

(Buenos Aires, Argentina)

“Mario and I had been friends since the age of six. We were from...

“Mario and I had been friends since the age of six. We were from the same small town in the countryside. We always kept in touch. We’d occasionally get coffee together. I knew he was gay but we never talked about it. It just didn’t come up. He never volunteered the information and I never asked. I felt that I was being respectful. At one point, I began to notice that his face was changing. He started to get very thin. But I never asked about it. Maybe I thought that he’d feel I was invading his privacy. Mario could get offended very easily. He was like a volcano. Maybe, subconsciously, I just didn’t want to get involved. When I finally knew for sure, it was too late. I visited him at the hospital the day before he died. I could only look at him through a glass window. He was covered in blankets. I felt like such an idiot. I could have asked him at any time. I could have said: ‘What are you hiding from me? Are you sick? Are you afraid I will reject you?’ Then we could have hugged each other and cried together. We could have maybe even laughed at the situation. But we never got to do that. Because I never had the balls to ask.”

(Buenos Aires, Argentina)

“This is the first time I’ve ever been in love. My...

“This is the first time I’ve ever been in love. My mother put me in an orphanage when I was one year old. I went from bonding with her every day to lying in a room with a hundred other cribs. It’s been seventy-three years since then, and I’m finally allowing myself to be dependent on the love of another person.”

“When I try to jump, I don’t leave the ground. It’s killing my...

“When I try to jump, I don’t leave the ground. It’s killing my Zumba.”

“My dad was a blackout, abusive drunk. I’ve been on my own...

“My dad was a blackout, abusive drunk. I’ve been on my own since I was sixteen, and after that it was nothing but abusive relationships and hell. Mark was the only guy who’d ever been nice to me. We were married for five years. He’d bring flowers to my office. He would make me a bubble bath in the morning before I woke up. He even treated my daughter like she was his own. He didn’t say ‘our daughter.’ He always called her ‘my daughter.’ He’d even watch me sleep. I could never sleep because of everything that has happened to me. But I could sleep when I was with him. And he knew that, so he liked to watch me sleep. One night I woke up and he was watching me like he always did. But I leaned over to kiss him and he was cold. It’s been over a year now. For awhile I was so depressed that I couldn’t leave my room. But I’m trying to get my life back together.“