I'm Shy, Not Antisocial

2007-11-20

I know I'm behind. Let's call this the post for yesterday, and I'll write again later tonight.

I would like to introduce you all to the blog PostSecret. I heard about the site a while back, but it was more recently brought to my attention in a Daily Northwestern article.

I really doubt that all the secrets are real, but I agree with the creator of the site that it doesn't really matter. I think as long as the postcards generate the desired effect - an understanding that we are not alone in the world, that other people are going through the same things - then it doesn't really matter if the secrets are real. Instead of applauding the sender for telling us their secret, we would instead be applauding them for phrasing an idea, an event so eloquently.

I read the site mostly for the pretense of familiarity. I'm afraid that I don't know anyone very well anymore, and that site gives me the feeling of being able to get to someone's heart. I haven't been reading the site for long, but these are my two favorite quotes:

• "I want to tell you that i love you, but I'm afraid of the silence that might follow."
• "I am afraid that the person I would love and myself will never meet, since we would both be too introverted to introduce ourselves."

It gives me the same feeling as (the alt text of) this comic from xkcd, which is also where I got the title for this post (and my shirt) from.