We all love to hold secrets, they make us feel powerful and make us feel as though we have knowledge of something that no one else does. Of course secrets can have the potential to damage, but secrets can also be shared with people you care about. They have the potential to let you be vulnerable with showing a little piece of who you are, and that can be a beautiful thing.

I've held many secrets over my short lifetime; between friends and family, and just with myself. Whether they were under good or bad intention, they were held secret until otherwise. I can almost positively say I've never shared someone's secret they shared with me (accept with my best friend, I pretty much tell her everything). There are, however, some secrets which will never have the pleasure of escaping my lips, and I will take those secrets with me to the grave. Whether thoey were silly ones that I've already forgotten from when I was younger, to secrets that I simply would not dare to even speak.

My favorite secrets though, are secret places. Places in this world I have discovered that I feel are my own, that no one else knows about. People probably do know about some of these places, because let's face it, there are a hell of a lot of people roaming around on this planet. However, I think it is safe to say that I hold at least one place on this Earth that not a single person has seen in the last 50 years besides me.

Tucked deep into the woods, away from everyone I know, there is a hidden treasure. A few people dear to me have become close to being the first to see this secret place, but I've never let it happen. Not even my sister or my best friends. I believe that every single person needs a safe space in their life, away from anyone and anything they know. Otherwise, people would go crazy.

However, the idea of a "safe place" differs in just about everyone's mind. Someone's safe place could be a bookstore, someone else's their bedroom. It all depends on the person. For me, I feel safe submerged in the ocean, or wandering in the woods. I've spent my whole life surrounded by both, and I thank my family all the time for ending up where we are.

The little dirt road I grew up on, that goes from 6A all the way to the beach on the bay-side has been in my family for four generations now. I grew up with swamp on one side of my house, woods on the other, and the beach right at the end. I found sanctuary with walking the beaches at all times of the day, any day of the year, and within the swampy woods that surround the rest of my property.

Those will always be my safe places. My secret places, however, will remain secret.