Secular Confession Exhibit

I would have to say that my favourite event of the night had to be the exhibit called Secular Confessions. I was a little skeptical at first because the whole purpose of the exhibit was to confess something that was on your mind. It didn't necessarily have to be a sin or something you did that was morally wrong but i felt a little weird talking to someone i didn't even know, or couldn't even see for that matter. Even so the person behind the drape in the confession stand was not actually a priest, it felt even more weird and awkward to have to talk to him. You would think that because it wasn't a religious confession that you wouldn't feel weird about it or feel any guilt about what you were confessing, but the effect on me was actually opposite. I felt weird and a bit hesitant at first about confessing something to someone other then a priest. In the end I decided to participate in the event because i realized that i did have something to confess. My confession was about how I was always cutting in front of long lineups. The funny thing was that i actually cut in line for this very exhibit, so i felt that it was appropriate to use that as my confession. I thought it was interesting though, that when i told my confession, the person behind the curtain started laughing ( when he clearly wasn't supposed to because it was a confession). He did end up apologizing for laughing but i thought it was funny that i could break the tension and the seriousness of the whole project, although what i did to get to the confession wasn't very nice of me and I also forced Adrian into cutting in line as well, lol.

Following is a description of the Secular Confession Booth exhibit as listed in the Scotiabank booklet for Nuit Blanche: "Do you have a troubled conscience? Introducing the Secular Confession Booth - it's cheaper than a shrink with no possibility of damnation. Mature personnel will hear your confession, judgment free. Of course, what's said in the booth stays in the booth."

I found this description to be quite interesting after experiencing the Confession Booth because although the description promises no possibility of damnation, mature personnel and a confession that is judgment free, I still felt as though I was being judged because the minute I told my confession the person behind the booth gave a little giggle. That was the precise reason why I was hesitant to go into the booth in the first place for fear of being judged or laughed at. I find it amusing that my confession was able to make the person behind the curtain crack.

~Laura