Like many people, I view almost every Humans of New York Facebook post. I used to have HONY syndrome: spending my days crafting responses for when I would be (inevitably) stopped and interviewed.
Brandon Stanton, the photographer and story magnet behind the blog, somehow gets people to share defining, intimate experiences with millions of other people, creating perhaps the most compassionate place on the Internet.
These experiences range from the circumstantial to the life-encompassing, the devastating to the inspiring, the observational to the speculative. Divorces, deaths, marriages, births, friendships, hardships, breakdowns, breakthroughs, daydreams, nightmares, moments of kindness, moments of weakness and revelations of all kinds are shared.
I’m regularly brought to tears or filled with hope for humanity. I’m always reminded that the autopilot tendency to box others in snap judgments is tragically limiting: how many people featured on the blog would be instantly judged or simply ignored when walking down the street?
I’m also reminded that each person is a complex being, shaped by infinite experiences.
Brandon recently traveled to Pakistan, a country that, at least from my perspective, is rarely explored beyond the prisms of extreme poverty and strife.
During his trip, dozens of people were interviewed. Brandon set out to expand his audience’s understanding of Pakistan. In my case, he succeeded.
Here are some posts that show the multifaceted nature of Pakistan:
“It seems that violence is the only lens through which ordinary people in Pakistan are viewed in the media. Even if it’...
Posted by Humans of New York on Tuesday, August 11, 2015
"The rain delayed our wedding. All the guests are stuck in traffic. We're just killing time and trying to stay calm. ...
Posted by Humans of New York on Wednesday, August 5, 2015
“He’s my only grandchild. Every time he does anything, I enjoy it. The other day he pulled down the TV set. I didn’t even mind.”(Karachi, Pakistan)
Posted by Humans of New York on Monday, August 10, 2015
“On her sixth birthday, two of her friends came over and brought her presents. One of the presents was big, and the...
Posted by Humans of New York on Sunday, August 9, 2015
“I belong to a very conservative family, so I’ve been dealing with a lot of permission issues. There are a lot of...
Posted by Humans of New York on Saturday, August 8, 2015
“Shortly after we were married, I got tuberculosis and rashes broke out all over my body. They smelled so bad that I...
Posted by Humans of New York on Friday, August 7, 2015
"I take her everywhere I go."(Karachi, Pakistan)
Posted by Humans of New York on Friday, August 7, 2015
“I want to have my own career. I don’t want to depend on anyone else. But there’s a view in our society that an...
Posted by Humans of New York on Thursday, August 6, 2015
“Education changed the lives of my entire family. Before education, we knew only how to work. It was always very quiet...
Posted by Humans of New York on Tuesday, August 4, 2015
“I was born paralyzed from the waist down. But this community is so tolerant that I never had to worry about fitting...
Posted by Humans of New York on Monday, August 3, 2015
“One beautiful thing about advocating for the poor is that feminist ideals are advanced naturally. In order to fight...
Posted by Humans of New York on Thursday, July 30, 2015
“My life is on repeat, every day. This area is surrounded by water, but my village has no access, so every morning I...
Posted by Humans of New York on Sunday, August 2, 2015
"When I'm bored, I call up Radio Pakistan and request a song, then I start dancing. I'll even dance on a rainy day. It...
Posted by Humans of New York on Saturday, August 1, 2015