I can be obsessive. When I want something, I FIND it. No matter where it may be hidden, you better believe I will find it. I can obsess over things. The slight problem is that I hardly am passionate about anything, and getting my interest is HARD. I remember I watched a movie with my family recently on Netflix; ABDUCTED: The Carlina White Story. It's a biographical film. Anyway, so my family had moved on to the next movie but I was buried deep in stories, news reports, interviews, anything at all I could get my hands on about the real Carlina. I was curious. I wanted to know more. How did it happen? When did it happen? What were the circumstances? That's the way it is with me.
But besides this curiosity and obsessiveness, the one trait that has stayed with me all my life is that I absolutely love listening to people's personal stories. I want to know about random people. Who are they? What's their story? It's why I read memoirs, it's why I prefer biographies and true life stories, it's why I love listening to commencement speeches. I pride myself in being a good listener, although I may not tell you my own story (I hardly ever do). This is also why I am blown away by the Humans of New York idea. To be able to read the stories (extremely personal ones) of random New Yorkers, oh what a thrill. But you know what will even feed my obsession more? To know the story of the person behind the idea--actually, the genius behind the idea. That's how I found this video. He talks about how the idea came about, his own background, and of course, Humans of New York. Most importantly, HOW does he get people to be so comfortable with him, that they share deeply personal stories within MINUTES of meeting him? Enjoy!
No comments