Brandon Stanton's Blog, page 369

"I left Belize when I was 12 or 13, just as all my friends were...

"I left Belize when I was 12 or 13, just as all my friends were getting swept up into gangs. The gangs would get kids to do the dirty work, because they knew the kids wouldn’t go to jail. I actually have an old photograph of the group of friends I used to hang out with— there were seven us. After I came to America, they were all killed in the exact order that they were standing in that photograph."

Seen in Central Park

Seen in Central Park

"What’s your favorite thing about your cousin?""His dirt...

"What’s your favorite thing about your cousin?"
"His dirt bike."

"Can I take your photograph?""Nah. I’ve got warrants."

"Can I take your photograph?"
"Nah. I’ve got warrants."

"Mom took care of me when I was sick so I wrote her a card but...

"Mom took care of me when I was sick so I wrote her a card but the teacher was too busy to help me spell it so I wrote a picture instead."

"When I told my mom that I was going to rehab, she was about to...

"When I told my mom that I was going to rehab, she was about to catch a flight to her 40th High School Reunion. I told her: ‘I guess you won’t be bragging about me to your friends.’ She said: ‘Actually, I’ve never been prouder of you.’"

"What’s your largest remaining goal in life?""Heaven."

"What’s your largest remaining goal in life?"
"Heaven."

"They came to America shortly after I was born. At first, my dad...

"They came to America shortly after I was born. At first, my dad worked construction and my mom did cleaning jobs. Now he owns a newsstand, and she owns a boutique. They are my idols."

"I did 8.5 years on an attempted murder charge.""What...

"I did 8.5 years on an attempted murder charge."
"What happened?"
"Some thirty year old dude kept harassing my twelve year old sister. He’d wait outside her school and invite her to parties. So I tried to kill him."

"His grandmother and I are raising him. I worry about putting...

"His grandmother and I are raising him. I worry about putting him into the public school system. I was a teacher for many years. I’ve seen so much confidence destroyed by the standardized system. Every human is born with natural curiosity. I’ve never seen a child who wasn’t inspired. But once you force someone to do anything, the inspired person is killed. I dropped out of school myself in 7th grade. So I know. I taught a GED course for years, so I’ve seen the end results over and over. I’ve seen so many kids who have complexes and insecurities because they were forced to do something they weren’t ready to do, and then they were blamed when they weren’t able to do it. What we call ‘education’ today is not organic. You can’t take something as complex as the human mind, compartmentalize it, and regiment its development so strictly."