Brandon Stanton's Blog, page 221

“I’m new to this city and I’m trying to get myself out there....

“I’m new to this city and I’m trying to get myself out there. I’m pretty sure I saw James Franco yesterday, which was awesome. But other than that it’s been kinda lonely. I wish more people would notice me. I’m just filled up with stories: fascinating stories, sad stories, happy stories, love stories. I know I have so much to offer but sometimes I wonder if people even see me. I sit here on this bench and they just scroll right by. Maybe they’re judging me by my cover. I’ve got to get more creative. Oh well, I’ll figure something out.”
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“We’re going to the African...

“We’re going to the African Festival!”
“What’s the African Festival?”
“It’s where Mom lets me eat my snack.”

“My dad doesn’t express his emotions, and my mom...

“My dad doesn’t express his emotions, and my mom doesn’t know how to use the iPad. So when we Skype, I have to look at my dad’s face while talking to my mom. It’s bizarre.”

“I’m twenty-four, and I’m already on my...

“I’m twenty-four, and I’m already on my third fresh start.”

“When you’re a teacher, you get to look down on your students’...

“When you’re a teacher, you get to look down on your students’ lives from 5,000 feet. You’re allowed a certain detachment because your primary job is to encourage and inspire. You can easily tolerate your students making mistakes, or lacking direction, because you realize that kids learn through the tension of uncertainty. But when it’s your own kids, you don’t have that the benefit of that detachment. You’re in the trenches because you’re the one in charge of keeping them safe. My son is impulsive, and he just got a Great Dane mix even though he’s staying in a tiny college apartment. If I were his teacher, I could laugh at that and say: ‘It’s OK, you’re just being you!’ But as his parent, there’s a lot of pressure to say: ‘Stop being you. And do this.’”

“I hate pot. I hate it even more than hard drugs. I’ve taught...

“I hate pot. I hate it even more than hard drugs. I’ve taught high school for 25 years and I hate what marijuana does to my students. It goes beyond missing homework assignments. My students become less curious when they start smoking pot. I’ve seen it time and time again. People say pot makes you more creative, but from what I’ve seen, it narrows my students’ minds until they only reference the world in relation to the drug. They’ll say things like: “I went to the beach and got so high,” or “I went to a concert and got so high.” They start choosing their friends based on the drug. I hate when people say that it’s just experimenting. Because from what I’ve seen, it’s when my students stop experimenting.”

“I’ve dated white people. I’ve got white friends. But I firmly...

“I’ve dated white people. I’ve got white friends. But I firmly believe that there’s not a Caucasian man in this world who does not think he’s more intelligent than a man with darker skin. He’ll deny it. But when he’s crushed down one thousand times, and when he absolutely needs it, he will play that card to save his self-esteem vis-à-vis me. I’m not saying it’s a choice. It’s not a moral thing. I’m saying it’s a feature of his soul that he doesn’t know is there.”

“I got evicted from my apartment in the summer of 2011. I was...

“I got evicted from my apartment in the summer of 2011. I was working on commission as a real estate broker, and I hadn’t made a deal in a long time. I had master keys to a bunch of vacant apartments, so I slept in those for a while. But that came to an end when two prospective tenants walked in on me buck-naked at a unit in Harlem. I got out of the shower, and the superintendent was standing there with two African guys. Luckily they didn’t report me. After that I tried sleeping in the office. That worked for a couple years. My colleagues saw me so much that they joked about me sleeping there. They had no idea it was true. But they fired me for good in 2013 and deactivated my entry card. That’s when I started sleeping outside. I bought a gym membership so at least I’d have a place to shower. Last winter was the worst. The cold would get through the sleeping bag and I’d wake up feeling like somebody had hit my hands with a hammer. All night I’d pray for 6 AM because that’s when my gym would open.”

“I turned my wife into a meme.”

“I turned my wife into a meme.”

“I got married a few months ago. I mean, she’s my...

“I got married a few months ago. I mean, she’s my everything and all. But I’m just trying to get used to having someone else’s opinion around all the time. She doesn’t like my beard so she’s making me shave it. Today. At 6:40 PM.”