Frank Warren, creator of PostSecret, spoke in Blackman Auditorium Monday evening to a fully packed audience. PostSecret is a community art project which allows people to anonymously send their secrets to Warren on a decorated postcard which he then publishes on his website and in various books. Since its founding in 2005, Warren has compiled numerous secrets in five separate books and the project has become popular worldwide.
When I saw the flyer for Warren’s talk at Northeastern, I was thrilled. I have been a PostSecret fan for years now, stemming back to an Alternative Literature class I took in high school, taught by the best of the best English teacher. In our class we browsed Warren’s books and created our own postcard with our unique secrets. My classmates, my teacher and I put our cards in a big brown envelope (without looking at each others, of course) and sent them along to Warren. Although a simple task, I think it was eye opening for us all and I have been a fan ever since.
Sadly Warren was scheduled to visit on a Monday night, during which I have class. Although the talk began while I was still learning how to write an anecdotal lede, we were let out of class half an hour early, and I decided at the last minute to use the ticket I had reserved. And I am so glad I did.
Warren was even more impressive than I had anticipated. He was poised, witty, and most of all, passionate about what he does. His speech was above all else, moving. He flipped through a slide show of various secrets he had received; ones that had stuck out to him. One of the secrets said, “When people I love leave voicemails on my phone I always save them in case they die tomorrow and I have no other way of hearing their voice ever again.” Warren said this was not an uncommon secret, and he had received a number of those types of messages.
Warren played some of the audio messages for the audience.
I, for one, am not a “cryer.” I watch sad movies, listen to nostalgic music, see a series finale, and do not shed a tear. But I guess it’s just that nothing has pulled at my heartstrings in quite the right way. During Warren’s speech I cried like a baby. I was so moved by his story, his portrayal of others’ stories, and judging by the lack of dry eyes in the room, I think others were moved as well.
After wrapping up his lecture, brave NU students had the chance to stand and share their own secrets for the audience. Sharing personal stories allowed for a sense of community in the room that I think is sadly, very rare. I felt a sense of togetherness and support that is so often missing, one that I have not felt in a long time. But I left that auditorium feeling happy and blessed.
So if you need a pick-me-up, try logging on to postsecret.com and viewing some of the post cards sent in. They’ll make you realize how lucky you are, make you laugh, or just assure you that you are never alone.
So thanks, Frank Warren, from all of us here at NU.