Tell me your secrets: Frank Warren speaks at Pitt

People send Frank Warren their secrets, and then he spills them to everyone. 

Roughly 330 students listened to Warren, creator of PostSecret, speak in the William Pitt Union on Tuesday night about his vision for the project and some of his own secrets. Warren created PostSecret in 2004 as a global collection of anonymous secrets. 

The event was hosted by Active Minds, a national nonprofit that promotes conversation about mental health. The club collaborated with Project HEAL, Hillel, Rainbow Alliance and Eye to Eye to bring Warren to Pitt. 

It all started with 3,000 personalized postcards, blank on one side, with directions on how and where to send a secret on the other. 

On the postcards, the return address was Warren’s home address. In the early stages of PostSecret, he received so many postcards that his mail carrier told him he should supersize his mailbox. 

While working on PostSecret, Warren realized he wasn’t acknowledging some of his own secrets. so he now shares secrets about himself to his audiences. 

“Sharing secrets can save lives,” he says. 

Some of the secrets on the postcards were lighthearted, like “My dad told me avocados were alligator eggs.” Others were more mischievous like, “I unfriend people on their birthdays.”

Warren said people call him “the most trusted stranger in America,” and he has received four million views on the PostSecret website.

More serious secrets pictured on the site each month touch on physical and mental health topics, like sexual assault, eating disorders and suicide. 

“Many secrets that Warren received revolve around eating disorders,” said Active Minds President Natalie Zazula. “Eating disorders are one of many common mental illnesses and we wanted to host a huge event to raise awareness and draw students together.”

Three months after he started PostSecret, Warren received a postcard of a door with punched holes in it, with a caption reading “the holes are from when my mom tried breaking down the door to keep beating me.”

Many attendees became emotional, and some were in tears. 

“Having Frank come and speak influences people to not hold back their secrets,” Caterina Pagano, a sophomore civil and environmental engineering major, said. “It creates a safe environment, which is important for students to know exists.” 

Warren invited students to share their own secrets at the end of the event. 

Students shared personal secrets, which were applauded by the audience. Warren gave the secrets personal commentary.

Many students shared secrets about their battles with suicide attempts and eating disorders, and then thanked their friends in the audience for helping them to overcome those challenges. 

“All people have secrets that they are afraid to share,” said Zazula, a senior marketing and English major. “Just because you might battle depression, anxiety or a multitude of other things doesn’t mean you should hide in shame.”