43: the hidden world of girls

Speaking of interesting projects in which you share personal things you've created, a few days ago, I found a brief feature on NPR, titled "Dear Diary: A Peek Inside The Pages Of Our Lives." (The story is just one brick in their Hidden World of Girls series, which you can keep up with in its entirety here.)

In short, NPR is compiling a database of intimate (private, confidential, innermost) diary entries from girls. With enough of these pages, NPR says, we can "form a comprehensive tapestry -- from elation to depression -- of life experiences. And give us insight into a world most people rarely see."

I really like the sound of this project. I don't know about you, but the idea of sharing secrets with strangers is just so appealing to me... especially given that so many of these strangers have probably, if not certainly, felt the same insecurities, fears, joy, sadness that I myself have gone through. What can I say? I'm a sucker for that common thread.

If this open diary call intrigues you as much as it intrigues me, you will find the following information useful:

How Can You Help? Submit pictures or scans of your diary's pages — or even the pages of your mother's diaries or grandmother's diaries.

How To Submit: Photos should be submitted through The Hidden World Of Girl's Flickr group. Or if it makes things easier, just upload them anywhere and leave us a link to the picture in the comments section. We will be getting in touch with you through Flickr mail or through the e-mail address provided when you sign up for an NPR community account. On Flickr, you'll know if you've submitted photos correctly if they show up here.