Brandon Stanton's Blog, page 493

"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?"
"Enjoy it while it lasts."
"What’s something you wish you’d enjoyed more while it lasted?"
"Raising my kids. I mean, they turned out well. So I raised them well in that sense. But I was always working. Even on a lot of weekends, I was working. When I was coming up, that’s what the man was expected to do.”
"If you had spent more time with your family, do you think you’d regret not having progressed as far in your career?"
"…. no."

"I just got out of a thirteen year marriage, and he’s...

"I just got out of a thirteen year marriage, and he’s really helped me gain back my independence."

“So what have you learned during this transition?”

“I’ve realized that everyone has a certain amount of power. You can give it away, or you can keep it for yourself. For awhile there I’d given it all away, and now I’m learning how to claim it back.”

"I moved here because there was a lot I didn’t like about...

"I moved here because there was a lot I didn’t like about myself in Pennsylvania. I knew everybody. And everyone knew me. I wanted a chance to not know anybody. And I wanted a chance for nobody to know me."

"He’s all the man a girl could ever want. If I want to see...

"He’s all the man a girl could ever want. If I want to see a movie, and he doesn’t want to see it, we go and see it."

"Where do you want to be in ten years?""On a beach. Sipping...

"Where do you want to be in ten years?"
"On a beach. Sipping margaritas."

"I’m moving here to live with my girlfriend. And her...

"I’m moving here to live with my girlfriend. And her parents. It’s gonna be rough."

"My students were worried about me riding without a helmet, and...

"My students were worried about me riding without a helmet, and they knew I loved orange. So they made me this."

"I live in Havana. For visa reasons, I have to leave the country...

"I live in Havana. For visa reasons, I have to leave the country for 48 hours every two months. I always bring a few boxes of cigars with me. I sell them until I have enough money to buy a plane ticket home." "Can I see them?" "Sure. These are Cohiba cigars. They are legendary. One day Fidel Castro found what he believed to be the perfect cigar. He inquired as to it’s origin, and learned that a very old woman had rolled it. So he sent many workers to learn from that old woman, and he began producing those cigars for himself. Cohiba cigars were only given to diplomats. They were never made available for sale. This is why they are legendary. But you must understand, Castro grew up as a peasant, so Cohibas are very robust. They are not sophisticated cigars. But sophisticated cigars cost less. Because they are not legendary."

"I’m breaking out of my shell."

"I’m breaking out of my shell."

"It was very tough at first. Moving to a new country is like...

"It was very tough at first. Moving to a new country is like being born all over again. You are just like a baby. You can’t speak, you can’t move around, and you don’t know the culture."