A Blog About a Blog

I begin my Sunday mornings by experiencing the intimate details of other people’s lives. I have a weekly date with PostSecret.com.

I’m about to become a doctor…but I still giggle at the word nipples.

I think Amish men are sexy.

There are two kinds of secrets: those we keep from others and those we keep from ourselves. This is the motto of PostSecret, which is an outlet for both kinds of secrets. PostSecret is an anonymous and ongoing blog community in which people from across countries and across cultures, cross the barriers of privacy and send in their own intimate details via postcards to founder, Frank Warren. Hundreds of thousands of people have fashioned their secrets into postcards using pictures, drawings and other forms of artwork, with the hopes of “getting something off their chest”. They find delight and relief in sharing something so personal with total strangers.

Five years later and I still wonder why we didn’t kiss in the park that night.

I’m almost 40 years old and have an unhealthy reliance of my magic 8 ball.

Over two years ago I discovered PostSecret and was instantly curious, intrigued, riveted and like over three hundred million other people, completely hooked. I have yet to miss my Sunday date. There are around twenty new posts every week; and every week as I read the new secrets I am continually surprised by the fact that I can always relate to at least one. This sends me the message that I am not alone; there is someone out in the world that feels exactly as I do in this moment. It immediately eliminates any feelings of isolation, really creating a sense of community. In a society where, typically, technology drives a wedge between human interactions, PostSecret goes against the norm and actually draws people closer together through this ability to relate to one another on such a personal level. I think this camaraderie is a little something extra Frank didn’t anticipate when he created PostSecret. As I read some secrets I can’t help but giggle aloud. Other secrets literally make my heart hurt for the author. This beautiful site makes me realize that every person has one secret that can break my heart. If we could all remember this there might be a little more compassion and tolerance in the world.

My friends don’t know that I am dying.

You don’t know this…but if you hadn’t stayed up until 4:55am with me I would have killed myself. Thank you.

I have yet to join this community by posting; I guess I’m still keeping secrets from myself. Throughout the week I find myself looking forward to these few minutes Sunday morning when I can ignore my life, and enter the lives of other people. Reading others secrets is the first step in admitting your own, and posting your secret is the first step in initiating the possibility of revealing them to those closest to you. We all have secrets, and whether we are keeping them from others or keeping them from ourselves, they still help define us. Whether I share my secrets or bury them is for me to decide.

As for PostSecret and Frank, the message is simple: FREE your secrets and embrace who you are.

As for me, I am going to continue enjoying other people’s sad, funny and inspiring secrets as I eat my Sunday morning bowl of Lucky Charms.