Why I Love PostSecret

By now, I pretty much assume everyone in the world is familiar with PostSecret.  For those of you who aren’t, it started as an art project, where Frank Warren had people send him postcards with secrets written on them.  He wanted 365, and years later, has had millions come to him.  PostSecret has raised money for suicide awareness and the Hopeline.  Many of the secrets are heartbreaking, but almost as many are uplifting.

In our social media- celebrity obsessed- selfie world, this seems honest in a way that other forms of transparency don’t.  Thanks to Facebook, I know what people had for breakfast and where they went on Saturday.  I get to see their latest pictures and know their hobbies, especially if they workout or run.  But I don’t know their hopes and dreams.  I don’t know what keeps them awake at 2 a.m. or if they’ve found true love.  I don’t know if they cry at Hallmark commercials or sneak cigarettes when no one is looking.  I don’t know that I need to know these things.  After all, everyone has secrets, and if we were all to post only the truth on social media, I’m not sure if that would make the world a better place, or just a sadder one.

PostSecret though, is a way for people to tell their secrets anonymously.  I wonder if I’ve known anyone who’s had their secret posted online.  I feel connected to a community of people.  Sometimes I see secrets and think, “Oh, you too?  That could have been my secret.”  Sometimes I just want to give the writer a big hug.  And sometimes I want to smack them.  Secrets are as different as the people who write them.

I guess I love PostSecrets for their honesty, and I appreciate the anonymity.  I try not to be judgmental, but I honestly struggle with it when people come out with too much information in a non-anonymous forum.  I think that people who participate in reality shows are idiots.  But when it’s anonymous like this, I just feel like it’s brave.  Maybe it’s because people on reality shows or who post certain things on Facebook just seem attention seeking.  Whereas writing a PostSecret isn’t attention seeking; the people behind them are just looking to connect.

The new PostSecret book just came out, and I’m excited to see if Santa bought it for me.  😉

 

Was He or Was Not He?… That is the Question!

Periodically, people question Shakespeare’s authenticity.  There are claims that Shakespeare didn’t really exist, and that all the works credited to him are actually the work of numerous authors.  Other claims state that Shakespeare did exist, but was the front man for other authors, or that he only authored a small number of the plays credited to him.

Anonymous is in theaters now, and is a movie dedicated to exploring this very premise.  It’s getting mixed reviews.  Some people feel it’s explored the various theories well, and others believe it fell short.

Shakespeare died almost 400 years ago, but questions about him still abound.  I don’t know if they’re ever going to be answered at this point.  If scholars haven’t found the answers in 400 years, I find it hard to believe that this question will ever be fully answered.  What is it about Shakespeare that continues to make this question interesting?

I suppose part of it is that Shakespeare was such a prolific author, with general appeal.  Shakespeare’s works have been staples of high school and college literature classes, and the inspiration for a number of books and movies.  Many ask how one man could have written so many different things with such general appeal.

Is it so hard to believe that he was just that talented?  I don’t discount that he had help.  In my experience, most authors bounce ideas off others or take stories from things they’ve heard or seen.

In any case, the movie Anonymous should be interesting.  But I’ll wait until it comes out on DVD.