We asked our BuzzFeed audience if there was anything they needed to get off their chest, that they won't share with their parents, and we're happy we could provide this space. Sometimes, things can feel a lighter once you say it out loud.
To respect their privacy, all submissions have been kept anonymous:
1. "I don't think they like me."
"I don't think they like me, which sucks because I genuinely like them and being around them."
MTV 2. "I had two abortions in my early twenties."
"I had two abortions in my early 20s, which I am fine with, but my mom (and family) would have disowned me had I told them back then. They are those 'Christians' who love persecuting others."
Svetlana Repnitskaya / Getty Images 3. "My parents have been trying to fix my Asperger’s my entire life."
"My parents have been trying to fix my Asperger’s my entire life. I so badly want to tell them that I don’t need to be fixed, but I know they won’t listen."
NBC 4. "I’m not as straight as I thought I was."
"I’m not as straight as I thought I was. I casually asked my mom what she thought about people who are not straight…and she said, 'Don’t be friends with them.' Now I know my mom and dad are homophobic. I don’t know what to tell her."
Showtime / Courtesy Everett Collection 5. "I don't regret cheating on my boyfriend."
"I don’t regret cheating on my boyfriend. I regret hurting him and making myself seem selfish, but I don’t regret cheating on him. He was toxic, and I only realized that through cheating on him."
Paramount / ©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection 6. "I’m a sex worker, and I started (out of my own free will) because I lost a lot of money in a cult."
"I’m a sex worker, and I started (out of my own free will) because I lost a lot of money in a cult. I’ll never tell my parents, and honestly, I don’t tell many people in my life unless I think they can handle it without judgment. Most people can’t. The reason I was so desperate to get money after losing so much in the cult? I wanted a nose job, which I just got and paid for in full. It’s wild because I’m in a PhD program at a very prestigious university, and all these privileged kids, who I’m also older than most of them, have no idea what I’ve gone through, and they sure as hell aren’t gonna find out."
Stonecutter Media /Courtesy Everett Collection 7. "My partner wants kids. I don't."
"My partner wants kids. I don't. I can't imagine how boring and awful it would be to have a child."
Scott Everett White / ABC via Getty Images 8. "I never graduated high school."
"I never graduated high school. I failed one course during my senior year because of my severe depression and never got to graduate. But I tell everyone I re-took the class via correspondence and got my diploma, even though I never did. On the bright side, I got great mental help for my depression, so it's still a win in my book!"
Sean De Burca / Getty Images 9. "I shoplift sometimes."
20thcentfox / ©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection
10. "I want so badly to leave the Mormon church."
"I want so badly to leave the Mormon church. I grew up in it. My family has been a part of it for generations. I’m going to one of the universities and even one of my best friends is a member. But I’m a lesbian, and the leaders of this church have time and time again proven that I’m nothing more than a number who pays them money once a month. If I didn’t already live with my best friend who’s very devout, I would’ve left already. If my family was any different, I would’ve left. If I’d been raised any other religion, there’s no chance in hell that I ever would’ve joined.
This church destroyed the one opportunity I had to marry the woman I love. The first time I really fell in love with someone and wanted to marry them, we had to both say no because of this damn church and the damn leaders who are old and biased. I have to sit and watch my best friend, who told me she might’ve married me if things had been different, date men and fall in love while I’m stuck being told, 'You can be gay, but if you want to stay in the church that hates you, you can never date or speak of it.' I hate it so much. I just want to be free. I just want to be in love."
Fred Hayes / ©Hulu/Disney/ Courtesy Everett Collection 11. "I have some health and personal issues that are NOT compatible with raising a child."
"I have some health and personal issues that are NOT compatible with raising a child. I don't want the responsibility.I haven't told my partner. I have no idea how to."
John P. Fleenor / ©Netflix / Courtesy Everett Collection 12. "I was physically and emotionally abused as a child."
"I was physically and emotionally abused as a child. My family all knew but they still refuse to acknowledge it for what it is to this day. It took me years and some very good (and understandably concerned) friends to realize that what happened was abuse. Everyone told me being hit, pinned down, and brought to tears for no reason was normal discipline for an elementary-age child. This continued until well into high school. I’m in college now, and the physical abuse has stopped, but the emotional abuse, gaslighting, and manipulation have not. The only reason I haven’t cut ties with my entire biological family yet is because I can’t afford college on my own. After that, I’m gone and never looking back. Somehow, I still love my family, but I can’t keep doing this."
Jamie Grill / Getty Images/Tetra images RF 13. "I'm sleeping with my married boss who has two kids."
"I'm sleeping with my married boss who has two kids. The worst part is that this is the second time I've done this to a family."
Danny Feld / Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images Are you holding on to a secret that you really want to let go of? Share it with us in the comments or anonymously here.