15 Times Humans Of New York Opened Our Perspective

15 Times Humans Of New York Opened Our Perspective

Don't seek validation in other people.

Do you decide what kind of leader you are based on who’s watching?

— Anonymous, Humans of New York

Leadership Wisdom

Share

The closest you can get to freedom is anonymity. Fame is the worst prison of them all. Because then people have ideas about you and ideas about your life. And if you’re not what they expect then they will fuck you up.

— Anonymous, Humans of New York

Fame Pop Culture Expectations

Share

I try to challenge myself in a different way every day.

— Anonymous, Humans of New York

Challenge Self Improvement

Share

I’m learning that the system doesn’t match up to what we were taught. According to theory, the defendant should always have the advantage. Our clients are supposed to be innocent until proven guilty. The burden of proof lies with the prosecutor. But that’s only in theory.

— Anonymous, Humans of New York

Law Lawyer Crime Justice

Share

He’s a beautiful person. He always tells me: ‘We’ve got to find a way to win by losing.’ In the eyes of society, we’ve lost already. Everyone in here is a loser. We can either be angry about it, or we can keep trying to grow.

— Anonymous, Humans of New York - Inmate tories

Crime Perspective perseverance Moving Forward Life Spilled Ink Winning Losing Humans of New York Growing Pains Self Improvement

Share

When someone called me a hero, I wanted to prove them right. When someone called me a devil, I wanted to prove them wrong. It took a lot of self-examination to realize that I was neither. There is a fullness to a person that is gigantic and nuanced and indefinable. It was equally impossible to be a hero or a devil. I couldn’t be contained by a single word.

— Anonymous, Humans of New York

Self Discovery Growing Pains Perspective Deep Thoughts

Share

I'm an ordained pastor. But it's just stopped making sense to me. You see people doing terrible things in the name of religion, and you think: 'Those people believe just as strongly as I do. They're just as convinced as I am.' And it just doesn't make sense anymore. It doesn't make sense to believe in a God that dabbles in people's lives.

— Anonymous, Humans of New York

God Religion Faith

Share

If a plane crashes, and one person survives, everyone thanks God. They say: 'God had a purpose for that person. God saved her for a reason!' Do we not realize how cruel that is? Do we not realize how cruel it is to say that if God had a purpose for that person, he also had a purpose in killing everyone else on that plane? And a purpose in starving millions of children? A purpose in slavery and genocide?

— Anonymous, Humans of New York

God Religion Faith War Hopelessness Death

Share

For every time you say that there's a purpose behind one person's success, you invalidate billions of people. You say there is a purpose to their suffering. And that's just cruel.

— Anonymous, Humans of New York

God Religion Faith Catholic

Share

The leaders would nod their heads, and say ‘thank you very much,’ but then nothing would change. Unless there was an economic benefit, nobody cared about protecting children, or empowering women, or stopping genocide.

— Anonymous, Humans of New York

Leadership Corruption Poverty War

Share

We’re the worst terrorists in the world and it was a long time coming. This entire country was built on the slaughter of innocents.

— Anonymous, Humans of New York

America War Terrorism Colonization

Share

They thought that children should be seen and not heard. In their world, you're not supposed to have feelings or opinions until you turn eighteen.

— Anonymous, Humans of New York

Childhood Child Abuse

Share

People’s lives are defined by the search for bread.

— Anonymous, Humans of New York

Share

Don’t look to other people for validation. Your birth was your validation.

— Anonymous, Humans of New York

Inspirational Self love Growing Pains Empowering Finding Yourself Humans of New York

Share

I’m smart enough to get around anything. So there’s never been anything to stop me but myself.

— Anonymous, Humans of New York - Inmate Stories

Intelligence Inspirational perseverance Humans of New York

Share