emmanation

Do you remember when Post Secret was cool?

I used to like it. I have memories of a time when I would remember to check it every Sunday morning, looking forward to the secrets. I bought the book for a friend of mine when he started a new job. I never considered sending in a secret, but when I used to do my sunday best posts (what happened to those, anyone know?) I would frequently use a card from PS.

Now, when I do remember to check, I mostly feel like smacking someone.

I can only think of two reasons that my love for the site might have changed.

Possible reason 1: I am now a terrible person who doesn’t care about the pain (or joy) of others.

Possible reason 2: There are only so many secrets. Frank, the Post Secret collector/editor fellow, must have literally seen every variation on the same six themes.

• Love.
  Variation 1: I love someone SO MUCH.
  Variation: I/my love cheated. I feel guilty/angry/exhilarated.
  Variation 3: I never told someone I was in love with him or her and now he or she is married/dead.
• Depression.
  Variation 1: I am depressed and don’t know what to do and might kill myself. (I hate these most of all. It’s SO FREAKING SAD and there’s NOTHING I CAN DO TO HELP. Also, do all suicidal people write to PS eventually? There are a lot of these.)
  Variation 2: I was depressed and am all better now. (Awesome, but sort of a smack in the face to variation 1, no?)
• Happiness.
  Variation 1: I am so happy.
  Variation 2: I used to be happy, and then I got depressed or the person I loved left or died or cheated.
• Sex.
  1: I like it.
  2: I don’t like it and don’t understand people who do like it.
  3: I totally COULD like it except my partner(s) suck(s).
  4: I do it in some fascinating way I simply must share with Frank. (I think most of these are fabrications.)
  5: I do something that everyone else does too but I am unaware of that and simply must share my completely vanilla sex with Frank.
• Religion.
  1: God is awesome.
  2: God used to be awesome but now isn’t, which is/isn’t my fault.

Done.

I guess I’m just bored. I am interested in the stories of people I don’t know. (Witness all the blogs in my RSS feed.) Postcards are so small, though, and there’s so little room for explanation, that I think it’s hard not to be cliche.

Hm. I’m adding a third choice to the list of possible reasons why I now sort of loathe the site.

1) I’m a horrible person. 2) Secrets are, by the very nature of humanity, repetitive. 3) Frank loves a cliche.

Maybe I should write him a postcard about my dilemma.