Hey everyone,
Over the weekend I had a run-in with an avid PostSecret follower - I'll call her "Jen." Jen is a delightful woman who has been keeping up with PostSecret for a while now, and she flipped out a little when she found out that I was the head intern (thanks for making me feel cool, Jen!). We got to talking more in-depth about this elaborate art project, and she revealed that, about a year ago, she had read a secret on the blog that she thought must have been written to her. She said she stared at the secret and started to weep. "I couldn't figure out if I was crying because the secret was written for me ... or because it wasn't."
Although she kept the secret private, it was obvious that it touched her very deeply. Her story is not the first I've heard of PostSecret's impact on someone's life. Another woman wrote in to Frank explaining that she had met her boyfriend of three years through the project. Although they lived over 1500 miles apart and had only ever conversed online, he bought her a ticket to one of the PostSecret events, and she drove all the way across the country to meet him. They have been together ever since.
Still other confessions have included emotionally-distant siblings reconnecting over the project, PostSecret community members donating money to a single mother's Christmas funds for her children, and those who have halted their plans of suicide after connecting with another fan. Hearing these stories or reading such secrets gives me goosebumps every time - and in the month that I've been here, the hair on my arms has raised quite a bit.
So what I request from you, faithful secret holders, are your stories. Does anyone have an exceptional tale of how PostSecret has influenced or changed your life? Fans and followers are the ones that make this project so magnificent and heartfelt, and I know there must be some incredible stories out there. If so, please contact me at postsecretintern@gmail.com. The stories will be shared immediately with Frank as well, and may find their way into the new PostSecret play!
Thanks, and I look forward to reading your stories.
Kaitlin
PS: Here is an example of what we're looking for, from an email that Frank received a few days ago.
Dear Frank,
Recently my mother and I attended your speaking event at my college. We've enjoyed PostSecret books together and looking online every week. She revealed to me on our way to this event, that she too had a secret. I didn't think anything of it... we all have secrets, don't we?
We shared many laughs and a few tears while you spoke, but as soon as you invited people to come up to the microphones to share their own stories, the first young lady who got up, told us of how at the age of 18 her abusive boyfriend had forced her to have an abortion and it had opened her eyes to the amount of love a mother has for their child.
I could hear my mother's crying gasp as I turned to her. She was looking up with tears streaming down her face, she whispered, "That's my secret." I couldn't hear anyone else coming to the microphone after that first young lady. We held each other and just cried...
