A glimpse into life's little secrets
By Kristina Chiapella
Everyone has a secret. Whether it's a hidden desire or a deep dark confession, it's something that can never be told. But maybe it can be written down, and anonymously mailed off to Frank Warren, the founder of PostSecret.com.
His Web site, launched in 2005, exhibits homemade postcards on which people have confessed their innermost secrets.
The Web site invites everyone to "anonymously contribute your secrets to PostSecret. Each secret can be a regret, hope, funny experience, unseen kindness, fantasy, belief, fear, betrayal, erotic desire, feeling, confession or childhood humiliation. Reveal anything -- as long as it is true and you have never shared it with anyone before."
Secrets are mailed in on decorated 4-inch by 6-inch postcards, and every Sunday, new secrets are posted online. The novelty of these confessions has made PostSecret.com one of the world's most popular Web sites.
Over the past two years, Warren has received more than 50,000 secrets, and of those a selection from teenagers and college students have been compiled into "My Secret," which is the follow-up to "PostSecret," Warren's 2005 best-seller. The cover of "My Secret" is the image of a postcard, and inside are displayed a collection of secret desires, fears, habits and regrets that have been mailed to PostSecret in the same form.
At times both shocking and humorous, the secrets are written across colorful photographs, images and hand-drawn artwork that serve to enhance each individual message.
Yet the value of the PostSecret community is not simply aesthetic. In the forward to "My Secret," the founder of 1-800-SUICIDE, Reese Butler, thanks Warren and PostSecret contributors for raising over $30,000 in funds when the hotline lost the support of federal funds. The foundation is advertised on the Web site.
And in his introduction, Warren writes, "When I travel to college campuses and speak about the PostSecret project with students, I have been inspired by the stories they have told me, stories that begin with a secret and end with hope. A young man in Seattle described how he gave his mother a copy of PostSecret as a gift, and how the secrets inside allowed them to discuss experiences and concerns they had never talked about before."
On Nov. 10, there will be a book signing of "My Secret" in San Francisco at Books Inc. The book is available on Amazon.com for only $11.97, compared to $19.95 at Borders.
Secrets inside include a postcard with the words "I cheated my way through school" written around an Emergency Medical Technician paramedic badge. Another one is a photograph of an elaborate wedding cake, and says, "when do we tell them there will be two brides on the cake?"
These big secrets are intermingled with more trivial and lighthearted confessions, such as one contributor who admits, "I like it when you sing because it makes me feel better about my voice."
"My Secret" is a compilation of emotions, including the feelings of humor, anguish and hope that can accompany the act of getting a big secret off your chest.
For a glimpse into the lives of teens and college students from all over the world, browse through the collection of confessions in "My Secret."
Look for information on the Web site to mail in a secret of your own on a postcard. Maybe it will turn up in Warren's next book.
Contact Kristina Chiapella at (408) 551-1918 or kchiapella@scu.edu.