Brandon Stanton's Blog, page 268

“Every time I try to diet, I just miss the excitement of doing...

“Every time I try to diet, I just miss the excitement of doing something wrong. I’ve got a family now. I can’t do drugs anymore. I can’t drink too much. I can’t stay out late. All I’ve got left is chocolate and steak.”

"I’ve been in and out of the hospital for ten days,...

"I’ve been in and out of the hospital for ten days, because my newborn baby is in the ICU. It’s been a stressful week. So we’re getting a pedicure."

“My parents aren’t bad influences or anything, they’re just...

“My parents aren’t bad influences or anything, they’re just hardworking people. I’ve seen them cry for me too many times. I got caught last year impersonating a police officer. We bought a fake badge and blank gun and went to Staten Island to rob drug dealers. But one guy fought back and then the real cops came. I’m done with that crowd, though. I changed my phone number. I got the tattoo removed from my face. Once I get the tattoos off my hands, I can join the army.”

"I came to New York to forget about him. We did everything...

"I came to New York to forget about him. We did everything together. We cooked together and studied together and we even had our own song: ‘Toi and Moi’ by Guillaume Grand. He didn’t like birthdays, so I was the only one he told and I’d bake him a little cake. On Valentine’s Day, we spent the whole day walking around Paris together. It seemed like so many times he was about to kiss me but he’d always pull back. It made me wonder what was wrong with me. I’ve had scoliosis since I was a baby, and I’m fine with it now, except when it comes to guys. Because I always end up thinking that if maybe I was taller, they would like me. So if I had known he was gay from the very beginning, it would have hurt so much less, because I wouldn’t have spent so much time thinking about what was wrong with me."

"I’m creating a screenplay from a novel I wrote about...

"I’m creating a screenplay from a novel I wrote about making a film."

“I had four restaurants, a beautiful family, and a beautiful...

“I had four restaurants, a beautiful family, and a beautiful wife. I was healthy, rich, and successful. But I was unhappy. My success felt like an illusion, and I was so fearful that it would disappear that I began to have panic attacks. I was about to go to a shrink, but my friend convinced me to try Buddhism instead. That was five years ago. Now I chant for an hour and a half every morning. Many of the things that I feared ended up happening: I got involved in some lawsuits, I had to sell my vacation homes, I lost one of my restaurants. But the thing is— I’m happier now than I was when I was more successful.”

"I’m going to be a farmer. I know how to grow two types of...

"I’m going to be a farmer. I know how to grow two types of crops. One crop is the normal kind. The other kind uses aquaponic systems. We have an aquaponic system in our classroom. It has a one ton tank with nine tilapia fish in it. It used to have ten fish but the biggest one died over Christmas break. His name was Frank. Anyway, the water in the tilapia tank gets filtered into another tank, where we are growing kale, hybrid spinach, and lettuce. Afterward, it gets funneled back into the tilapia tank and starts all over again. Everyday we have to measure nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, and one other thing that I forget the name so let’s not mention that one. Anyway, at the end of the year we are going to harvest everything that we grew. Then we’re going to make fish tacos."

"I came to study design. The Americans in my class are very good...

"I came to study design. The Americans in my class are very good at speaking English. So they talk, talk talk. I’m not very good with my English. So I just learn, learn, learn."

"I got asked in a job interview to describe the ideal job that...

"I got asked in a job interview to describe the ideal job that I’d create for myself if I had a magic wand. I thought that was the stupidest question. I would never use my magic wand to create a job."

"My dad passed away two weeks ago. I couldn’t go home...

"My dad passed away two weeks ago. I couldn’t go home because I’m still working on my paperwork."