It has been ingrained in people for a long time that no two people are the same. Whether you believe it from a religious or a scientific standpoint, it is pretty clear it is true. But despite it being true and everyone knowing so, it still seems popular for humans to hate each other because of their differences. The problem is we do not understand those differences. We know what is true for us and we are usually too full of ourselves to take the time out of our days to even begin to understand what is true for others, especially those from different cultures and backgrounds. There are, however, a few people in the world that have made a life for themselves by exploring other people's lives and trying to understand them. One of these people is Brandon Stanton, author of the blog and best-selling book, "Humans of New York."
What originally started out as a mission to document the photographs of thousands of people in New York City turned into Stanton sitting down and listening to the stories of all of the people he encountered. Realizing he was getting a unique insight into people's lives, he turned his photo blog into a blog telling the stories of New York's incredibly diverse population. Now, Stanton has over eight million followers on Facebook, as well as several hundred thousand on other social media outlets. What started out as his desire to make a photo census of his city has turned into him touching the lives of not only the people he meets but also all who follow his blog.
All of the people who were featured in Stanton's blog had no idea that their lives would be talked about all over social media. They were just approached by a total stranger with a camera while they were trying to go about their day. He asked extremely personal questions and for whatever reason, they opened up to him. They told him about their aspirations, their fears and their regrets. These people do not know that when they tell him this, he will showcase them in the world in a way that will provoke empathy from all of his followers. Their stories resonate so much that people who read them reach out, after the fact, and thank them for sharing and telling them they can relate or that they now have a new prospective on things because of them. Because of Stanton, people are now actually getting to know each other, instead of judging them on a snap, two-second impression.
"Humans of New York" has inspired other people to begin their own "Humans of" blogs to do similar stories on people in their communities. There is even a "Humans of BSU" that highlights Bridgewater students. Reading these stories is encouraging and inspiring. Whether they are happy or sad stories, motivational or reflective, they will bring out human compassion in all of their readers.
For more "Humans of..." check out these links:
"Humans of New York" Blog: http://www.humansofnewyork.com
The effects of HUNY: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/the-hony-effect-how-humans-of-new-york-is-altering-lives-9611015.html
Humans of BSU: http://bsulife.com/humans-of-bsu/
