![alt text](https://s31.postimg.org/88tv4sap7/Free_speech.jpg)

As some of you may know, I developed a [Medium publication](https://medium.com/into-the-raw) a while ago. Within this publication exists an account called [The Secret Writer](https://medium.com/into-the-raw/tagged/secret-writer). 

# I created it to solve what I saw was a big problem in life and specifically in social media: a self-censoring tendency due to lack of freedom, either financial, emotional, or otherwise. 

I created **The Secret Writer** profile as a free service to anyone who was feeling desperate and scared by the prospect of telling someone their secret. I created it to help people get through desperate situations.

People everywhere are routinely fired from jobs because of something they post on social media. If you are an employee, you are owned, to a certain extent by your company. Also, with the prevalence of family members and co-workers all being connected on major social media platforms, a kind of unconscious muffling of the mind occurs. I know this to be true for me when I post on Facebook and LinkedIn. Facebook is the most problematic because it's the most popular. Even if your boss is not connected to you on FB, he/she is connected to someone who is connected to you. 

This kind of self-censorship results in stifled growth and emotional stagnation. You literally feel as though you are not allowed to share your authentic self. I have felt this way over the last several years, so I wanted to create a way for people to divulge their secrets but retain their anonymity. Anonymous sharing of personal stories is what I hoped to achieve with Secret Writer. 

# Purging of emotionally charged stories can help people on the path of self-discovery and acceptance. I have carried around secrets that ate me up alive. 

![alt text](https://s32.postimg.org/d9bmi31h1/Mafia.jpg)

# At one time, I nearly got sucked into the mafia. It was a terrifying experience.

One of my best friends was in the mafia, and over time, this truth came out. As a curious person, I began asking lots of questions. Too many questions. She revealed to me later that her mafia boss had instructed her to carry out a lengthy psychological analysis of my risk-taking behaviors. When it was determined that I was not scared in the least by her admission that she was in the mafia, it was determined by the mafia boss that I was a good candidate for recruitment. That's when things out of my control began to happen: I received an envelope full of Euros (as repayment for my friend's debt to me), my phone was being tapped, and the mafia boss paid me a visit at my job while he was dressed up as a different identity. 

After he collected observations about me, this information was then given to me by someone else to psychologically disrupt my mind. Then, one day, after having an argument with my friend, I arrived home to discover that I had received an angry voicmail from a man who spoke and shout only in Italian.

I told my friend I wanted nothing to do with them. It was too late. I knew too much information. As time grew on, and I distanced myself from this friend, the threat went away. But I will never forget how trapped I felt. Secrets do this to us. They make us feel isolated, weak, powerless.

This post is getting too long, but in the next one, I'll be posting one of the secrets from The Secret Writer. I contacted the author and asked permission. I will be sending half the rewards to the Secret Writer.

Here's a video that explains the Secret Writer. I'm still thinking of ways I can move this idea to Steemit. And redistribute the monetary to those who submit their secrets. If you have ideas, let me know. Or would be interested in collaborating or doing this with me, please comment below.

https://youtu.be/VKHS0t-ylwk