Paper #2

                                          One Man Holds a Whole Lot of Secrets

The PostSecret founder took stage Sunday, February 12, to speak with WSU Greek life and residents of the Palouse at Beasley Coliseum. Frank Warren, the man behind PostSecret, personally read the secrets, shares his journey, and opens the lecture to audience members for an uncensored discussion.

Warren’s visit to Washington State University was a live version of his seminal secret-sharing exhibition, which is part of a national tour that visits hundreds of college campuses. At the end of his lecture, audience members had the opportunity to share their deepest secrets with thousands of their neighbors and classmates in an open discussion. After the audience participation, Warren’s #1 New York Times Best Seller, PostSecret Confessions on Life and God, was available for purchase along with a book signing.

During the lecture, Warren revealed personal experiences and challenges that have made him into the man he is today. In his testimony Warren shares that his mother was never supportive of his project. He added, through the years he’s been called the most trusted stranger in the world, and believed to of seen more secrets then any other human. The idea behind PostSecret came from Warren’s personal experiences, and his philosophy that sometimes we are keeping a secret, but in reality, the secret is keeping us. Warren said:

“There are two kinds of secrets. The kind we keep from other people and the secrets we keep from ourselves.”

Warren read secrets that were banned from his book to the audience and revealed secrets of his own.  The secrets varied from shocking to playful, one included a handmade anonymous postcard with a picture of cars in the 1950s and read:

“I used to sleep in cars in the used car lot so I wouldn't have to go home to my drunken stepfather."

The audience left the lecture feeling shocked and inspired, although some felt the lecture was too intense and personal for a university event. One thing was unanimous; everyone was touched by Warrens project.

“I started tearing up as I heard my classmate tell her secret on the microphone, I had no idea of the battles she is going through, and I can completely relate to them,” Said Zoe Thiemann, a Junior at Washington State University, who was required to attend the speech with her sorority sisters. You couldn’t help but feel inspired after listening to Warren, said Thiemann, who felt closer to everyone in the audience by the end of the program.

Another audience member, Ivan Leander, was not as inspired as Thiemann, instead he felt extremely uncomfortable and upset. Leander agrees the project is touching millions of lives, but didn’t believe the open audience discussion was necessary with a group of people who all live in the same town and go to school together. Leander said:

“I was required to attend the lecture and didn’t know very much about PostSecret except that it was an anonymous blog. I felt so uncomfortable during the open audience part because these are my classmates and friends, they are not anonymous to me.”

PostSecret founder Frank Warren last visited the area in 2009, where he shared anonymous secrets published on his popular blog and series of books. His dream is to become the person who can share his gifts. Warren concluded his lecture by sharing, “PostSecret’s life was short, but it is not over yet.”

                                                             Outline

I.      Lead

o   PostSecret founder takes stage Sunday night to speak with WSU Greek life and residents of the Palouse at Beasley Coliseum.

§  Mark Warren

II.    Background on Event

o   Sunday, February 12, 2012. Beasley Coliseum on WSU campus.

o   Frank Warren, the man behind PostSecret, personally read the secrets, shares his journey, and opens the lecture to audience members for an uncensored discussion.

III.  Audience Source 1 (good)

o   Zoe Thiemann, junior at WSU.

o   Felt inspired by Warren’s message.

IV.  Audience Source 2 (bad)

o   Ivan Leander, Senior at WSU

o   Felt uncomfortable and awkward.

§  Didn’t like the open audience discussion where members of the community were aloud to tell their secrets to the audience.

V.    Background on speaker

o   Last toured the Palous in 2009 at University of Idaho

o   Has a clear message

o   “PostSecret is not over yet”