The secrets that arrive daily in Frank Warren's mail come in all shapes and sizes — and on every imaginable surface.
"I'm like a kid on Christmas morning every time I check my mailbox," he said. "I've had secrets mailed to me written on various fruits and vegetables, on naked pictures … Once, I got a secret written on a bag of coffee."
The self-proclaimed collector of private information spoke to a packed crowd in Cabot Auditorium last night about his PostSecret project.
"Your secrets are like boxes, like coffins," Warren said. "Sometimes when you think you're keeping a secret, that secret might actually be keeping you. Free your secret. Become who you are."
More than 100,000 people from around the world have taken Warren's advice to heart and chosen to release their secrets by writing them on a postcard and mailing them to him.
Warren described how these contributors have been vital to helping PostSecret evolve from an "admittedly crazy idea" into a famous collection comprised of emotionally raw and painstakingly designed postcards sent from anonymous confessors.
"The very act of sharing a secret can be transformative," he said. "I think people on an instinctual level understand that, and that's why they send me the postcards."
PostSecret began in 2004 when Warren distributed postcards throughout Washington, D.C., containing only his address and an entreaty to anonymously contribute a secret. Within weeks, postcards bearing secrets began arriving for him. To his continual surprise and delight, they've kept coming.
Warren said that his family was initially skeptical about his experiment. "My dad thought it was self-indulgent, and my mom called it diabolical," he said. "I didn't understand my own motivations at first, but now I've realized that the process is therapeutic. Eventually, you just come across a secret that resonates with you."
Since PostSecret's inception, Warren has collaborated with HarperCollins to produce four books. The All-American Rejects, a pop-punk band, featured Warren's postcards in a popular music video in 2005, the proceeds from which Warren donated to suicide prevention.
Many of the postcards can be found on Warren's Web site, PostSecret.com, which boasts over three million visitors per month. Warren updates the Web site every Sunday, choosing postcards to display from the 1,000 he now receives each week.
"I read every postcard," Warren asserted in response to an audience member's query. "I keep every postcard in big Tupperware bins. I think each one is special and precious."
After showing a slideshow of postcards, Warren asked the audience to take part in his presentation; several students quickly obliged and lined up at the microphones to tell a secret.
Students shared stories of faking asthma attacks to avoid punishment, questioning their sexuality and reclaiming a foreign-sounding name subject to constant botching by teachers.
The audience applauded after each revelation, and Warren called the confessors "heroes."
"The thing I hope you never forget is that each of us has a secret," Warren said to the audience. "The secret could break your heart if you knew what it was."
Warren was brought to Tufts by Lecture Series. Junior Jon Cohn, the group's co-chair, said that Warren's reputation preceded him.
"He's a really popular guy," Cohn said. "We heard he gives really great talks, and he was available for our schedule."
Fellow co-chair Eric Shapiro, a senior, introduced Warren to the enthusiastic, mostly female crowd. "Frank is here tonight to share some of the emotional stories he has heard, and to listen to ours," Shapiro said.
Lecture Series brings one speaker to campus each semester. The group has not yet released information about its spring speaker.
