Brandon Stanton's Blog, page 514

"Five years ago I got hit by a jeep on my bike. I woke up in the...

"Five years ago I got hit by a jeep on my bike. I woke up in the hospital, my face was messed up, I was on lots of morphine, and my family had all gone home because they’d been told I wouldn’t wake up that night. I was really scared. The next few weeks, while I was healing, I told myself that if I ever got better, I’d never live a mediocre life." 
"And what are you doing now?"
"I got a BS in Mechanical Engineering and now I’m getting a PhD in Biomedical Science."
"What are you going to do with it?"
"I’m going to save humankind, of course."

This man was cruising through Central Park, while his dog jogged...

This man was cruising through Central Park, while his dog jogged out in front of him. “They keep trying to give us tickets," said the man, “So I taught him a trick. Watch this." 

He shouted: “Police!" 
And the dog jumped up on the scooter.

Girl next to me on the subway had the most beautiful eyes.

Girl next to me on the subway had the most beautiful eyes.

"He asks a zillion questions.""What’s the toughest...

"He asks a zillion questions."
"What’s the toughest question he’s ever asked you?"
"How to get to Hogwarts."

"I see how much I love him, and I imagine that my dad loved me...

"I see how much I love him, and I imagine that my dad loved me like that one day, and it makes me wish I’d been a better son."

"What was the saddest moment of your life?""Probably when I was...

"What was the saddest moment of your life?"
"Probably when I was homeless for a few months."
"What happened?"
"This city can really chew you up and spit you out. People don’t seem to realize that a lot of the homeless people they pass on the street had homes the week before."

She agreed to a photograph, but seemed a bit uneasy about the...

She agreed to a photograph, but seemed a bit uneasy about the whole “being interviewed by a stranger" thing. I really liked the photo, so I kept trying questions, hoping to strike on one she felt comfortable answering— but no luck. Eventually she said: “This feels like a really bad date." 

Front Row Seats

Front Row Seats

"They were filming that show ‘Gossip Girl’ across...

"They were filming that show ‘Gossip Girl’ across from my apartment. I marched right up to the crew and said: ‘Do you have any idea what you’re doing to the youth of America?’"
"Is the show really bad?"
"Oh, I’ve never seen it. But gossip is horrible. It ruins lives."

"He pushed me here after work."

"He pushed me here after work."