I enjoy learning how little actions, little moments, have such large impacts.
A few days ago, I came across a photo on Facebook that Humans of New York (HONY) had posted. For those that do not know, it is a movement that a photographer named Brandon Stanton started a few years back. He finds random people on the street, takes a few portrait shots of them, and then asks them to share their story. Often the pictures he posts are accompanied by tragedy, beauty, strength, humor, and hope. Name any emotion, and HONY will make you feel it. It aims to humanize individuals in the mess of 8.4 million people swarming about in New York City.
A few days ago, a picture of a young boy from the projects came up on my newsfeed.
"Who's influenced you the most in your life?"
"My principal, Ms. Lopez."
"How has she influenced you?"
"When we get in trouble, she doesn't suspend us. She calls us to her office and explains to us how society was built down around us. And she tells us that each time somebody fails out of school, a new jail cell gets built. And one time she made every student stand up, one at a time, and she told each one of us that we matter."
Find the story on Facebook here.
I felt a flare of hope for the boy, and gratitude for the worthy educator who understood the influence she had. I thought about the picture for only a moment, and then moved on. After all, what could I do?
Today, I returned to Facebook to find Brandon Stanton, the mastermind behind HONY, had tracked down Ms. Lopez. They had brainstormed how to help the children of Mott Hall Bridges Academy. They realized they were fighting against the "limited horizons of disadvantaged youth," and that the best way to help them was to let them see a world beyond the projects they grew up in. As Ms. Lopez put it, "It can be very difficult for them to dream beyond what they know." So, Brandon Stanton set up a Kickstarter to fund field trips to Harvard for the students. In just three hours, the HONY community raised $185,000. It was enough to fund the program for six years. When I started writing this blog post, it was at $315,065. It's now up to $337,427.
***Update: As of 1/29/15, over $1 million has been raised***
Find the link to the Kickstarter here.
Today, I returned to Facebook to find Brandon Stanton, the mastermind behind HONY, had tracked down Ms. Lopez. They had brainstormed how to help the children of Mott Hall Bridges Academy. They realized they were fighting against the "limited horizons of disadvantaged youth," and that the best way to help them was to let them see a world beyond the projects they grew up in. As Ms. Lopez put it, "It can be very difficult for them to dream beyond what they know." So, Brandon Stanton set up a Kickstarter to fund field trips to Harvard for the students. In just three hours, the HONY community raised $185,000. It was enough to fund the program for six years. When I started writing this blog post, it was at $315,065. It's now up to $337,427.
***Update: As of 1/29/15, over $1 million has been raised***
Find the link to the Kickstarter here.
Hundreds of children’s lives, for years to come, have been changed because of the actions of one man. Brandon Stanton really didn’t do very much: he took a picture, he met with a woman for a few hours, and he set up a Kickstarter. None of that takes much effort. Yet, the impact he will have is incredible. Now, many of those children from the projects have the opportunity for brighter futures. Ask just one of those children whether they think Brandon's few actions matter, and I bet I know what they would say.
This sequence of events hit home for me. Every decision I make has consequences, but I know some actions I take will have farther reaching effects than others. I choose to live my life with purpose, so that what I choose to do benefits others. The question is, how? For a start, I’m going to donate to that HONY kickstarter so that some kid from Brownsville, NY can develop into a backbone for the community. I’m also going to actually do what I’ve been planning on doing every year since I arrived at BYU: I’m going to volunteer with Y-Serve. I may not have the same influence to help as Brandon Stanton , but I can help in my own community, here in Provo, UT.
Now, what are you going to do?
Humans of New York Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/humansofnewyork
This is a great post! I really like how you have taken a current topic and used it to show the things that you have been learning over this week. Something to go along with your service-minded resolution is a quote that I heard this week, "Be kind; everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." Now there are those that are visibly fighting a hard battle, that are fighting things like poverty, disease and illness both mental and physical, but among all those that we think that we should help (which I believe is essential to humanity; we must help those who visibly need it) sometimes we forget about those who are not so visibly in need of help. Maybe a friend, a family member, or a roommate, we never know what deep battles they may be fighting as well. When given the opportunity to serve those who are visibly in need of help we must take those opportunities (of which I commend you for wanting to get involved with Y serve), but in between those opportunities we must also look to be kind to everyone, because we never know how far a simple act of kindness may go to someone in need.
ReplyDeleteThank you again for your post, it is inspiring!
Decisions determine destiny! I have been hearing this a lot lately. Brandon Flowers saw an opportunity to ignite a fire in the heart of a troubled community and it will no doubt change the world. Even if only one kid in the next 6 years of the project goes to college, then that kid will go on to make positive impact on thousands of people throughout his lifetime. With that being known, I feel even more responsible to make the best out of my opportunities (like Brandon Flower) and start a fire somewhere (not literally).
ReplyDeleteThanks for the awesome Post!
It is amazing to see how big of a difference one person can make. It makes each of ask ourselves what we can do to make a difference. I have faith that Heavenly Father places each of us in our lives so that we can make a difference. Each person that comes in our path is sent there by our Father in Heaven. As we pray and act on our promptings, we can find peace in doing the things that our Father in Heaven would want us to do.
ReplyDeleteIt is easy to go through life not having enough faith in our own power of influence to take action and try to make a change. I really liked your post because it shows that an individual with a goal can make a large difference and have a huge influence on those around them, making the world a better place. It reminds me of the butterfly effect, that even if we influence or change one life it can affect the rest of the world.
ReplyDelete