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| From the PostSecret at Dalhousie event page on Facebook. |
Standing at a microphone in front of over 1,000 strangers, a few brave men and women voluntarily shared their innermost secrets.
With trembling voices, they revealed things they haven’t even told to their closest family members or friends, things like suicide attempts or unrequited crushes.
“I enjoyed the attention of my controlling ex-boyfriend,” admitted one university-aged woman. Other confessions were humorous, such as one person who owned up to drawing hearts on filthy vehicles around Dal’s campus.
At most public events you wouldn’t find members of the audience bringing along the skeletons from their cupboards. But blogger Frank Warren knows there’s therapeutic value in sharing secrets.
The founder of PostSecret.com must be on to something, because for the past five years, people from all over the world have mailed him over half a million secrets written on postcards. These postcards have been compiled into an Internet blog, five books and two travelling shows.
Mr. Warren’s only Canadian stop on his current university tour was at Dalhousie. The event was sold out and members of the audience travelled from across the Maritimes for his presentation.
Throughout the evening, the charming Mr. Warren discussed how PostSecret came to be and the secrets that did not make it into his books because they were screened out by the publishers. And then he stepped aside what we’d all been waiting for: audience members lined up behind the microphone to share their own secrets.
“It took so much courage for those people to stand up in front of the audience and share their secrets,” observed Gill Prichard, a third-year health promotion student, afterwards.
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| From the PostSecret at Dalhousie event page on Facebook. |
“I thought it was incredible that he was able to create an atmosphere where people are willing to share their secrets with hundreds of strangers,” said Ms. Prichard, who was a fan of the PostSecret books before becoming addicted to the online blog.
And Mr. Warren had his own secret to share: “I’ll be the first to admit that PostSecret was a crazy idea!” he said. Five years ago, Mr. Warren walked the streets of Washington D.C. and asked strangers to write down a secret on a postcard. The only stipulation was the secret had to be something that no one else knew.
After gathering the secrets, Mr. Warren scanned the cards onto his computer and uploaded them to his blog. Then people started sending in their secrets. Not only did the postcards contain a secret, many were also uniquely designed.
Dal psychology student Megan Scott, enjoys the artwork each postcard has on it. She has been reading the PostSecret blog for about three years.
“I loved hearing stories he had behind various secrets. I think his explanation for why people send him their secrets and share them with others was a good one— people don't like to be alone,” reflected Ms. Scott. By sharing secrets, people “can see that others do feel the same things or do the same things that they do themselves.”
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| From the PostSecret at Dalhousie event page on Facebook. |
Third-year student Angela Taylor muses that PostSecret creates a sense of community. “It makes me feel better knowing I’m not going through something alone, whatever it may be.”
Secrets sent to Mr. Warren vary in topic, but he says the most popular secret is “I pee in the shower.” His latest book. PostSecret: Confessions on Life, Death, and God, is on the New York Times Bestsellers List. His blog, http://postsecret.blogspot.com/ gets seven-million hits a month.