Have you ever thought about you secrets? Yea, the ones you’ve never shared with anyone; the ones you try to forget and keep hidden. There might be a lot of reasons of why you keep secrets, you might be ashamed, or you might not want to make situations worse that they already are. Well, it’s okay; everyone has secrets.
On Tuesday 27th, I went to see Frank Warren at the HUB theater (not by choice, because I had to complete an assignment for another class, but I left the lecture with a whole new perspective on life). Frank is the creator of Post Secret, a website where he posts secrets that people mail to him on postcards. Post Secret has been around for a long time. Frank said he started it by going to the subway one day and handing out postcards to random strangers telling them to mail him their secrets. As time went by, people actually mailed him their secrets on postcards and now he gets hundreds of them from all over the world every day.
As I was listening to his story, I was wondering what the reason was he wanted to read other people’s secrets. Was it just a smart way of making money out of other people’s story? Was he that bored of his life that he needed other secrets? I am not usually a skeptical person, I always try to keep my mind open to different and new ideas; but I was skeptical of this lecture. I wasn’t aware at all of how emotional and personal this lecture was going to get.
Frank read us a bunch of postcards from a metal box he had. He explained how we all have this metaphorical metal box with all of our secrets inside. The secrets he was reading were so personal to the people that sent them in, I got chills all over. I thought of the secrets I had in my metal box; I usually try to talk to people whenever I feel sad, but when I was younger I used to keep it all in to avoid bothering someone else about my feelings.
As he kept sharing secrets, he told us follow up stories and he also talked about himself and how he got to the point he is now. Frank said that he didn’t know why he started Post Secret in the first place, but he later realize that he used it as a way of helping people release what they had been holding in for so long to be more at peace. Along with making people feel liberated, he himself felt a sort of liberation too, knowing that there were people around the world with all types of secrets. Do you think it feels good to get rid of a secret?
Secrets are an interesting burden. Once you have one, you either share it and let the weight off a little, or you keep it and carry the weight with you. I know we all have secrets and it is hard to let go of them. People from all over the world have gone through so many harsh life events it’s like the actual movies. Hearing all those secrets reminded me that people are real. Sometimes with how busy every day gets, I tend to forget about everyone else since I’m so stressed about my life. However, I have to remember to be aware of what’s happening, to take in everything that happens throughout the day without taking anything for granted.
You should do the same. Enjoy being here, right now because as cheesy as it might sound, you’re never going to live this moment again. Be happy to be where you are. Even if you’re going through a hard time, remember that everything can only get better with time and that you will be stronger. You are not alone, and people actually care about you. Enjoy every single moment you spend alive, because why wouldn’t you?
And if you have a secret you’d like to share, write it on a postcard and send it to: Post Secret, 13345 Copper Ridge Rd. Germantown, Maryland 20874.
