This Artist Listened To People’s Secrets For 100 Days. Here’s What He Found Out.

Everyone has their own secrets, but some are much bigger (and more personal) than others.

Though we like to think we know the people closest to us very well, we’ll never know for sure whether they’re keeping something from us. Some hold onto their darkest secrets for their whole lives in fear of becoming that vulnerable in front of another person. Sometimes it’s easier to tell a total stranger, which is what a number of people learned when they talked to Terence Eduarte, an illustrator from the Philippines. In his recent project called “100 Days Of Secrets”, Eduarte spent 100 days illustrating friends and people he’d never met in exchange for their deepest secrets. Here are just a few.

“It’s been two and a half years but I still can’t tell those around me that I am HIV positive. So instead of focusing on what I can’t do, I volunteer to help change the stigma around HIV.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BVB-552F1ah

“I tell people my mom died from cancer when she actually died from cirrhosis due to alcoholism. I didn’t want people to think she was a horrible mother. We were close no matter how different the alcohol made her sometimes.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BWzM4LOF-aN

“Sometimes I feel like I am a really abusive person that only uses people for my own good. This scares me so much.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BXFF_trlTel

“I wanted to visit my grandmother in the hospital but it was a long walk and I got lazy. The next day, she passed away.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BV1QayxllEP

“I burned the suicide note I wrote a month ago. Today is a good day.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BW60xf8F8yk

“I want to ask my half-sister if our estranged dad ever touched her back when they were living under the same roof. Or was I his only victim?”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BS7776xl0D2

“My bipolar disorder is completely out of control. No one knows, because I’m good at being fine.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BWedbAbl2El

“I told my unborn son I wasn’t ready to be loved by him. The next day I miscarried.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BUqlgznF45M

“I catfish guys on random dating sites. I enjoy pretending to be someone who I’m not.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BTLWMkcFhgS

“I attempted to take my own life a few months ago. Right now, I’m pretending to be okay so my mom can sleep soundly at night.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BTno_9tFh19

(via BoredPanda)

All of these people were so brave for sharing such vulnerable things about themselves. For more secrets from Eduarte’s project, be sure to check out his website and follow him on Instagram.

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