Secrets, secrets are no fun unless you tell everyone

"I'm 20 and I don't know if I'm an alcoholic or the typical college binge drinker…it scares me."

"Sometimes I sit in the rain because I feel it washes away my mistakes."

These are just a few of the hundreds and thousands of secrets that have been posted online at PostSecret.com. Started in November 2004 by Frank Warren as a community art project, the goal was to have individuals share an anonymous secret on a decorated postcard.

Distributing around 3,000 postcards, the instructions were to simply share a secret that they had never shared with anyone before and to send the self-addressed postcard back. Patiently waiting, a few postcards should show up here and there until Warren and his family found their mailbox overflowing with responses from anonymous individuals.

"My home address is on the book and on the Web site. I feel that people are taking a risk by mailing me their secrets, so I wanted to take that first vulnerable step by sharing my home address. I feel like I have a relationship of trust with these strangers. And that trust has never been violated," Warren said in an interview with the Washington Post.

Secrets can include anything from a simple confession to someone sharing their deepest darkest secret in hopes of not feeling alone. What began as a simple project soon grew into a phenomenon, posting the cards he received online on a blog. Warren would post ten new secrets every Sunday and it escalated from there. People began to view the site and secrets either just to view it, for inspiration, or to see a secret that that may reflect their own.

"Some of the secrets are so heartbreaking," sophomore Eric Pagan said. "I would cry if I found out one of those love secrets were about me."

The project became so well received to where Warren has released five books showcasing the various postcards sent to him, including: PostSecret: Extraordinary Confessions from Ordinary Lives, My Secret: A PostSecret Book, The Secret Lives of Men and Women: A PostSecret Book, A Lifetime of Secrets: A PostSecret Book and his most recent, Confessions on Life, Death, & God.

Since the beginning of the project, Warren has received over 400,000 postcards. There was such a positive reaction to the blog that a French and German version have been launched,PostSecretFrance.blogspot.com and PostSecretDeutsch.blogspot.com.

Developing a large following, with people who even check the site religiously every Sunday, it is no surprise that Postsecret.com has received numerous awards. In 2006 the blog received five Weblog Awards, or Bloggies, for Best American Weblog, Best Topical Weblog, Best Community Weblog, Best New Weblog, and Weblog of the Year. The Web site was then awarded Weblog of the Year again in 2007.

Working with 1-800-Suicide, Warren began working with the Hope hotline foundation in 2008 in an effort to help those in need.

"While I do not think that there is a direct connection between suicide and secrets, I wanted to connect the project with a charity I believed in.

"Suicide has effected me personally and I actually volunteer on that hotline, so I know the good work they do.

"Maybe suicide is America's secret. Twice as many people kill themselves than are killed by others -- but you would never know that by watching the nightly news," Warren said to the Washington Post.

With the magnitude of the project it was not long before Warren decided to bring his project on tour. Speaking at college campuses, bookstores and places nationwide, Warren displays secrets for the world to see, some which have graced computer screens before while others have never seen the light of day until now.

Those who attend a PostSecret Live! Event are in for an experience. Audiences are welcome to look at the secrets that are up in the traveling exhibit and meet Warren himself who speaks at the events.

PostSecret.com has given many the voice that they didn't know they had. Individuals are able to see secrets that may be written and submitted by someone else but may in fact belong to themselves.

"I like it because it's a glimpse into strangers' lives. The thing I find most interesting is that people send their deepest darkest secrets to the mail box of a complete stranger," said sophomore Lauren D'Elia.

"It shows how uninhibited people will be when they know they're doing so in anonymity. It helps people that read the blog because it lets them know they are not the only one with quirks and secrets. It lets them know that pretty much everyone is a little bit dysfunctional."

Although Warren may be a stranger to many, countless people have entrusted him with secrets that no one else in the world may know. The anonymity allows some people to be completely themselves and reveal the good, bad and ugly truths they may face.

When asked in an interview by the Washington Post on how the project came about, Warren said, "I don't know why I started it. Maybe it was because growing up my family kept things from me, and that always stayed with me. Maybe it was driven by secrets in my own life that were pushing for reconciliation below my own awareness. Maybe I just wanted so see if others had a rich interior life like I knew I had.

"I think all of these were motives, but I am also sure I really don't know. After all, I have no artistic background or experience. I feel like an "accidental artist," like this project found me."