HONY’s Brandon Stanton is the role model every college student needs

Brandon Stanton is the creator of Humans of New York, the photojournalism phenomenon that has taken the world by storm.

He also happens to be best friends with one of the biggest Ohio State fans in Georgia, one who dragged him to the national championship game in January 2015.

Stanton, dressed casually in a black hoodie and dark brown pants, stood before a sold-out crowd at the Ohio Union yesterday and talked about the five year journey which has led him to create the Humans of New York we know and love today.

HONY is a social media account that contains a collection of quotes and portraits of strangers Stanton has met throughout his time in New York City and around the world.

The collection has resulted in two New York Times best-selling books and an online following that reaches over 16 million on Facebook alone.

The line to get into the talk wrapped around the entire Union

When Stanton began his journey, he couldn’t have imagined his portraits would captivate such a vast audience. For him, seeing the names of people he didn’t know commenting on and liking his photos was how he measured his success.

“There’s going to be a long period where it’s going to be difficult, for so long, you’re going to have to be your only fan.”

The story of Stanton’s journey, from living on “Cheerios and turkey sandwiches” in Brooklyn to photographing Yazidi refugees in Iraq, shows dreams are possible, but a work in progress.

As college students, we are all filled with hopes and dreams of what we want our lives to be like five to 10 years down the road. However, we are also living in a tough and harsh world where we have to work hard for what we want.

When Stanton was starting out, he constantly had to ask himself: “What can I do to make myself like this [photo] more? How can I make this better?”

Stanton’s life so far is one that can serve as a model for any college student that has a dream, but doesn’t know how to achieve it.

The process of creating HONY was very much one that was dealt with day in and day out. There was no plan, except to take portraits of interesting people. The portraits then developed into interviews and hour long conversations with seemingly average strangers. He had to trust his work was going to become what it was meant to be and he was going to become the person he needed to become.

Stanton’s success came to him because he was “treating his dream like a job,” a mantra he repeated to the crowd of twenty-somethings multiple times.

Brandon Stanton (2nd from left) posing with students after the talk

The main takeaway of Stanton’s talk was living the dream is possible. It’s hard, but it’s possible.

He said: “You have to show you’ve been passionate for a long time…[and] prove you care.

“I can’t promise [you] two New York Times bestsellers, but I promise you can structure your life around doing what you want to do.”

Stanton’s honesty and optimism is what every college student needs to hear. He validates the dreams we have, but also keeps reality in check.

He doesn’t sugarcoat anything, all while avoiding to belittle our goals and aspirations. He recognizes every ordinary person carries a burden and, with that burden, a unique story.

When you’re at an age where it can feel like the whole world is about to crash down on you, these anecdotes of sincerity mean everything.