Students at Alumni Hall came together to reveal some of their darkest secrets to a full house last night after Frank Warren, creator of PostSecret, talked about his life and showed special selections of postcards as part of Student Programming Association’s Distinguished Speakers series.
Warren said that in November of 2004, he began walking the streets of Washington D.C., while handing out blank postcard with his home address on the back urging people to tell their secrets.
“It was difficult to explain at the time, and I had no idea how it was going to work,” Warren said.
Slowly postcards started arriving at his mailbox, and now he has a mountain-high amount of postcards, about half a million, some of which are shared on the website every Sunday or included in one of his five books.
Katie Brase said she has known about PostSecret for the last six years and has even set in seven secrets of her own, one of which was featured on the website her senior year of high school.
“A lot of the postcards on the site are relatable and gives you a good look into human nature,” Brase (junior-food science) said.
Warren said the most common secret revealed to him is that people pee in the shower or are looking to find that one special person they can share their secrets to.
“Our secrets connect us,” Warren said. “It is only an illusion that it separates us.”
Some audience members like Sarah Leach found out about PostSecret through the All-American Rejects’ music video for “Dirty Little Secret,’ which features real postcards Warren lent to the band to feature in their video.
“I’m too limited about things to send my own postcard in, but I think this is a good way to get everything out, and it’s good thing to do for people who don’t have someone to talk to about their problems,” Leach (junior- biobehavioral health) said.
Warren who himself dealt with struggles of suicide among his family, friends and himself is proud that PostSecret has been apart of donating thousands of dollars for suicide prevention.
Being called the “most trusted stranger in America,” Warren individually receives, keeps and reads each secret he gets, some of which have been special enough for him to carry around.
The floor then opened up to students who shared their secrets about dealing with family members battling cancer, best friends who almost committed suicide and teen pregnancy.
