Jonathan Novick is a dwarf; and every day, as he lives his life in New York City, he is gawked at, photographed by strangers, harassed and mocked.
Novick, who is 22 and has a type of dwarfism called achondroplasia, says he became so “fed up” with these countless negative encounters that he finally decided to do something about it.
“I wanted to stop telling people what happened to me and I wanted to start showing people what happened to me,” he said. “I wanted to show everyone what a day in my life was like.”
So, Novick took a camera and hid it under his clothes before setting out to walk around the Big Apple; he later compiled the footage he captured into a short documentary entitled “Don’t Look Down On Me.”
Novick says he doesn’t want to “tell anyone what to do or what to think or how to feel.” Instead, he says he hopes by showing the world a glimpse into what his life is like, that others will think twice whenever they encounter someone unlike themselves.
“The next time you see someone who is different than you, think about what their day might be like," he says, "think about all the events of their life leading up to that point, and think about their day — and think about what part of their day you want to be?”
What an excellent question.
Enjoy reading this article? Read more selections from the best of HuffPost in Huffington Magazine.
Related
Before You Go
