ALWAYS be kinder than necessary..

Apparently there have been some questions raised as to why exactly I am collecting secrets..Am I out looking for more gossip about people or why do I want to know such personal things about people? I just want to announce that neither or these were my motives when choosing to experiment with this topic. So here is a question that I received from one of my teachers yesterday… "What do you want others to gain from this?” So here is my answer:

I was hoping that giving our school an outlet, where they can anonymously put their feeling out in the open, would be a relief for our students. I was also hoping that maybe if I just got some portion of our high school to take the time to read the postcards people are sending in then maybe it would help them realize everyone is dealing with more tough stuff then you may know. Everyone has a story and everyone has a past, so maybe after reading these secrets you may realize that things aren’t always how they appear. Maybe that person who seems to have it SO much easier than you or seems soooo flawless isn't. Maybe people aren't as easy to read as you think they are. So today I am going to leave you with a quote to think about and maybe one that you can input into your daily lives:

“Be kinder than necessary for everyone you meet is fighting some sort of battle.”

Secrets Revealed!!!

It just so happens that I ended up beginning my experiment last Monday on October 11th. After patiently waiting to receive my postcards, the turn out was quite surprising! Today I am posting about nine new post cards that I received in the past week and a half! Some are sad and some I found to be quite funny! Thanks to all the people who went out on a limb to share their secrets! Many will find comfort and hope after reading these! I hope you enjoy them and feel free to comment:) Have an amazing weekend all!

Secrets, secrets are no fun...

So if you have read my about me then you got the rundown of things that make up some part of who I am, but I didn't fill you in on a lot of other crazy important things that make up who the real me is and those could or could not be secrets. Whether you tell people your secrets or don't even realize you have one because you can't live it down, I have come to a conclusion. This conclusion is that everyone has a secret. Whether you are a Straight "A" Student, 78 years old, or even The President...you have a secret. Why do we keep secrets? Is it because of embarrassment or fear? Or is it simply because it is liberating?

So now maybe you are wondering why I am talking about secrets so here's the answer:

When asked by my most amazing English teacher to come up with an I-Search Topic idea, I had no clue what could possibly capture my interest everyday for the next 3 months...that was until I thought of this amazing Idea! It all started when I was listing things that I enjoy and questions I wonder about all the time...

-Reading Blogs (Postsecret and Le Love are my absolute favorites!)

-Listening to music (Can't do much research about that for three months...)

- Will I have skin cancer by the age of 25? (How depressing!)

-Why gay soldiers should not be discriminated against! (I think Lady Gaga has that covered!)

So as you can see none of those were really great topics that I would enjoy staying focused on for three months, except for something that has to do with blogs! It just so happens that I ALWAYS come up with the best ideas when I am half awake in the morning before I get up and out of my bed. Luckily I now keep a journal by my bed so there is no way I can forget my most amazing thoughts! So it was the other morning when I had a dream about how an embarrassing secret of mine was being spread around the school and taking place in everyone's daily locker chats. It was then that I realized I could use this dream as some inspiration for my I-Search topic. I was going to create my own blog containing anonymous postcards containing student’s secrets. I was going to do my own Frank Warren experiment at my school and that is the exact reason for the creation of this blog.

So here it goes: this experiment may either fail miserably or if it goes as I wish, it will succeed and the students at my high school will find liberation and comfort in revealing their anonymous secrets. The ball is in their court now, so if you are reading this and want to create a postcard and send it in it would be most appreciated! Not only by me, but by the readers of this blog because everyone finds comfort in knowing they aren’t the only one with a secret! If you would like to create a postcard and have it posted then you can pick up a Postcard from Ms. St. Pierre's classroom! Spend all the time you want decorating or simply just finding the courage to write your secret down. Remember all submissions are anonymous! To submit your post card you can bring it back to Ms. St. Pierre’s classroom and there will be a lockbox behind her desk that you can drop your secret into.

*If you have never read the Postsecret blog then I highly recommend you do! However, I am giving you fair warning that it may become absurdly addicting! Their Website is www.postsecret.com and was created by Frank Warren. The following are some examples of secrets that have been posted either in one of Frank Warren's many books of secrets or on his Postsecret blog: