“I use my Facebook status to make my sister-in-law jealous.”
“I didn’t enlist to escape, I enlisted to pay for our wedding. Will you marry me?”
These are just two of the more than half a million secrets shared with Frank Warren, who is often called the most trusted stranger in the world.
More than 200 people filled the Student Center Ballrooms Wednesday to hear Warren, creator of PostSecret, a continuous community art project that seeks to anonymously share secrets sent in by people from around the world. So far, the project has spawned five books, a blog, two traveling art exhibits and lectures held nationwide.
Warren said he began the project about five years ago with the belief that he could get strangers to trust him with their secrets. Warren said the desire to begin the project stems from his childhood.
“When I was growing up, I went through some very difficult times alone, and so as an adult, I feel like part of why the project is so meaningful for me is I can try and create ways to help the person I was when I was younger,” Warren said. “If I could create a safe, nonjudgmental place where people could share these secret feelings or private desires or confessions, it could be really special.”
Warren said his lectures on campuses have become more and more about facilitating audience members sharing secrets. It has become less talking and more listening, Warren said.
Warren said by sharing secrets, people are often forced to face a part of themselves they have been hiding from.
“I think we all have secrets,” Warren said. “Sometimes when we’re keeping a secret, it’s actually keeping us.”
Monica Rodriguez, a sophomore from Lake Zurich studying psychology, said she discovered PostSecret a little more than one year ago. She said seeing other people’s secrets is inspiring and allows people to relate to strangers.
“You can relate to other people’s secrets,” Rodriguez said. “I made one (postcard), but I never sent it in.”
Rodriguez said she’s still a little nervous about sharing her secrets, but was excited to hear Warren speak. He’s world-renowned, she said.
Andrea Curry, a sophomore from Schaumburg studying social work, said she was introduced to PostSecret recently through Rodriguez.
“I thought it was really interesting,” Curry said.
Jonathon Brooks, a university employee in Lentz dining hall, said he saw a flyer for the event and became interested in the project.
“The new book seemed to be cool,” Brooks said.
Brooks said he was looking forward to hearing more about Warren’s suicide awareness efforts through PostSecret during the event.
Warren said the PostSecret community has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Hopeline, a national suicide prevention network. He said he works to raise awareness and prevent suicides through allowing people to share their secrets.
“I lost a friend to suicide, and I felt like I could do more,” Warren said.
Robbie Steffen, a sophomore from Mahomet studying computer engineering, said he only heard of PostSecret about one or two weeks ago through a friend.
“It sounds really cool, people sending in their secrets,” Steffen said.
Warren’s campus visit was part of his national promotion for his new book “Confessions on Life, Death and God”, which is the No. 1 book on The New York Times bestseller list.
As for the future of PostSecret, Warren said he did not have goals for where it should go next.
“I try not to set goals for the project; I just follow where it leads,” Warren said.
Madeleine Leroux can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 254.
