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Pictures and Stories from "Humans of New York"
Pictures and Stories from "Humans of New York"
“I just moved to New York, so it’s been a little tough meeting people. It seems like everyone already has their own group of friends. So I’m trying to become more of a ‘yes’ person and do things I normally wouldn’t do. Like I came to the park today instead of sitting at home. And I went to my first hockey game yesterday. And I joined a dodge ball team on Thursday nights. Dodge ball is a lot more pressure than I thought it would be. I try to hang back and not throw the ball, but then usually I’m the last one and everyone is aiming at me. The only consolation is knowing that it’s going to be over in two seconds. And after the game we all go to the bar. Our team name is ‘We Throw Things and Drink.’”
“A lot of younger people pass by me while I’m running. It’s a bit of a metaphor for the rest of my life. I turned forty-seven in October. I’m starting to have bosses that are younger than me. It’s causing me to question what my experience is worth. I’m noticing that my younger colleagues are more adventurous and take more risks—either because they don’t know about failure or they don’t care. As I get older, I feel like more and more of my life is outside my control. That’s why I started training for the marathon. I want to be in control of something. I can’t control current events. I can’t control politics. I can’t even control my personal relationships. But I can control my legs. I can put one leg in front of the other. I can decide the miles that I run each day, each week, each month. And it feels great. I get a rush every time I make it to the top of a hill.”
“My husband is running for city council in Long Beach and it’s been a difficult race. His name is Joseph Naham. He didn’t get many contributions or media coverage because he’s running as a Green Party candidate. He’s optimistic, because that’s who he is, but there’s a chance he might be a bit hurt by the results tonight. So I got him these flowers to thank him. He put his whole heart into the race. This wasn’t a power play for him. He genuinely wanted to help the community. I just want him to know that no matter what happens, he’s planting seeds, and they’re gonna grow, and that’s what it’s all about.”
“The bridge to Rikers Island is called the Bridge of Pain. You’re on this bus. You see the city behind you. And in front of you, you see nothing but four walls. I was sent there for a year when I was nineteen years old. My friends and I got caught stealing copper pipes from a construction site. All of us grew up together. I thought they had my back. But none of them came to see me in prison. I had zero visits. Nobody put money in my account. So I haven’t talked to any of those guys since I got out. I work two jobs now. I stay out of trouble. I’m trying not to be a negative person anymore. I still have anger problems. I think it’s because there was so much yelling and violence in my house growing up. But whenever I feel the anger coming on, I just close my eyes and rub my ears. My baby brothers used to rub my ears when I was growing up. When things got bad in the house– it always used to calm me down.”
“You know how when you see a group of geese in a field, and there’s always one with its head up, looking around? That’s me. I was always afraid. Just anxious. It’s like my mind was a heat-seeking missile, always honing in on what could possibly go wrong. My first daughter got the brunt of it. I was so worried about everything. Her first plane ride. Her first day of school. Her first sleepover. I thought if I anticipated every little thing that might go wrong, then maybe I could fend things off. But that’s never possible. Things will always go wrong. The best you can do is give your kids self-confidence. But I’m afraid I passed on my anxiety instead. Because when Mom is always afraid of the world, the world becomes something to fear.”
“I graduated more than one thousand kids from elementary school. I’d still be teaching but my eyes went bad. It’s such an important time in a child’s life. It’s when they learn speech, grammar, and how to pay attention. It’s when the tree gets its roots. If you’re taught wrong in elementary school, you’ll be trying to catch that train for the rest of your life.” (St. Petersburg, Russia)
“My English is not good. Spoken English is very difficult. But I want to study at Columbia so I am trying to improve. I decided to come to America because of Forrest Gump. I’ve watched the movie five times. I like Forrest very much. Forrest is very simple. He picks one thing, and he keeps going. When I was young, I thought Forrest was stupid. But now I have a different view. I think people are too complicated. They complain about everything. Forrest never complains. Forrest chooses one thing and he keeps going. I watched the movie last month to encourage me. My life is hard because people don’t ever know what I’m saying. But I just think of Forrest. Forrest figured everything out because he just kept going.”
“I can get a bit insecure about my health condition. In the beginning I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to give her everything she needs. Because I can’t lift her. I can’t run after her. It takes me longer to do things, so I thought she might get frustrated with me. But none of those worries came true. She’s perfectly fine with our reality. She’s very patient. When we get out of the car, she knows that the wheelchair goes first, then Daddy, then Mommy, then Olga. She’s very happy sitting on my lap. And she loves to lie in bed with us. She even tries to help me. In the house I don’t use my wheelchair because I can walk while holding onto my husband’s shoulders. Olga saw us doing this recently, and she came up behind me and tried to help by pushing my legs.” (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
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