Brandon Stanton's Blog, page 376

“You change what you can: you stop wearing baggy pants, you quit...

“You change what you can: you stop wearing baggy pants, you quit picking your nose in public, things like that. But when you’re done changing all the things you can change, and you’re left with the things you can’t change, and they still want you to change, then you start to know in your heart that it’s not going to work. The divorce was scary and confusing and emotional, especially because there were kids involved. But in the end, there was a peace. There was finally a truce of sorts.”

“If you could give one piece of advice to a large group of...

“If you could give one piece of advice to a large group of people, what would it be?”
“Quit invading other countries for their resources.”

"Instead of moms and dads, we had counselors."

"Instead of moms and dads, we had counselors."

"We’re eye doctors.""What’s something about the eye...

"We’re eye doctors."
"What’s something about the eye that most people don’t realize?"
"The eye doesn’t see. The brain sees. The eye just transmits. So what we see isn’t only determined by what comes through the eyes. What we see is affected by our memories, our feelings, and by what we’ve seen before."

"What’s your greatest struggle right now?""Deciding when...

"What’s your greatest struggle right now?"
"Deciding when is the right time to share my artwork. Knowing if it’s ready. Or if it’s ever going to be ready."

"I had a heart attack in the exact spot you’re standing."

"I had a heart attack in the exact spot you’re standing."

"I just got married and have three new stepchildren." "So...

"I just got married and have three new stepchildren." 
"So what’s been your greatest accomplishment as a stepmother so far?"
"They don’t hate me."

"What do you feel most guilty about?""Not having enough...

"What do you feel most guilty about?"
"Not having enough direction. Everyone in this city seems so… specific."

"I came from the Dominican Republic when I was 15. The first day...

"I came from the Dominican Republic when I was 15. The first day of school, I couldn’t speak English and I didn’t know anybody. I wanted to cry all day. I didn’t even want to go to lunch. Six months later, he moved to the US, and came to school feeling the same way. So I showed him how everything works. We’ve been best friends ever since."

"I found a ladybug, a beetle, and a little tiny bug that I...

"I found a ladybug, a beetle, and a little tiny bug that I don’t know."
"So what advice would you give to other bug collectors?"
"You have to be really focused and find a rock that is big but not too big and you lift it up and if there’s not any bugs you put it back down. But if there is a bug and you like it, you put it in your bug jar. But if you don’t like it you put it back and put the rock back down."