I don’t know about you, but I am a huge fan of Post Secret. Every Sunday I look forward to reading the secrets Frank Warren, the founder, decides to share with the community. I also double and triple check to see which college campus he’ll visit next. You can imagine my excitement when at the top of his list was UCF! For years, I’ve been waiting for Frank to come even remotely close to where I was located at the time, and he finally did. A few of my friends and I decided to attend, and one of my friends even shook Frank Warren’s hand. I didn’t really know what to expect from the event but I knew I wouldn’t be let down.
For those of you who don’t know what Post Secret is, it’s an online community where people send in and share their deepest secrets. It’s completely anonymous for the sender. Those who send in their secrets send them to Frank’s house and he and his wife read them. Over the past several years, Frank has collected over 500,000 secrets. He’s been called “the most trusted stranger in America.” Some of the secrets are funny, some of them romantic and some of them sad. No matter what, somebody out there reading the secret probably shares the same one. Post Secret has a tendency to bring people together and make them feel less alone.
The evening began with me and my friends standing in line for an hour waiting to get inside. Capacity was 300. We were number 230. I couldn’t contain my excitement when we made the cut. Then Frank decided to walk outside and check out the crowd and that’s when I got really excited. He had finally come to UCF and I was beyond ecstatic for his arrival.
Once inside, Frank began sharing his favorite secrets and how he embarked on his journey of finding other people’s secrets. He lived in Maryland and would walk the streets of Washington, D.C. and ask strangers to share their secret on a post card. Some people ignored him, others laughed and some even claimed they didn’t have any secrets. It was when he shared a picture of a beaten down door that his success began. The secret read something along the lines of “this is my door after my mom continued to beat it while trying to finish beating me.” He was then flooded with pictures of many other people’s doors beaten in for the same reason. One person even said the pictures made her feel more normal because she thought she was the only person this sort of thing happened to. After these stories were shared, Frank’s website reached one million views.
After this accomplishment, The All American Rejects reached out to Frank and asked if he would give them some secrets for their “Dirty Little Secret” music video. He agreed on one condition: they must donate to the Hopeline. Hopeline is a suicide prevention hotline that anyone can call if they are having doubts about their life. Having known multiple people who have committed suicide, this cause is very close to Frank’s heart.
Overall, the event was fantastic. The audience laughed and some even cried. I think most of us were touched by one secret or another. At the end, people from the audience were able to share their secrets. Most people were afraid, I could tell. But the brave ones that did share were not judged by a single other person. I think that says a lot about Post Secret. It’s a safe community where people can do or say anything and there is no judgment.
If you’re interested in sharing your secret, below is Frank’s address:
13345 Copper Ridge Rd
Germantown, Maryland 20874
Don’t forget to visit Post Secret to see this week’s secrets!