Unburdening Yourself at Oops…I’m Sorry

March 16th, 2009 in News, by Head Honcho

In Kim Edwards’ novel, The Memory Keeper’s Daughter, a newly married couple led an idyllic life. Everything changed when the husband, a doctor, delivered the babies of his wife one fateful night. One baby was a healthy boy, the other, a girl with down syndrome. He made a decision to not let anyone know of the birth of the girl, so he decided to send the baby girl away to a foster home. He kept the secret all his life, and it affected the couple’s marital life.

In our lives things can somehow go wrong one way or another. Like the protagonist in the novel, we can be burdened with guilt (although the guilt may be to a lesser degree) because of some event. It can be entirely our fault, or it can just be due to a freak accident. It may have been triggered by events entirely out of our hands, but we somehow aggravated the problem.

Whatever the cause may be, we sometimes feel guilty about it, or put the blame entirely on ourselves, however irrational that reaction might be. With no one to share our feelings with, we can be paralyzed with this burden, and it might affect the way we function with other people in our everyday lives.

Oops…I’m Sorry is a website that was conceptualized so that anyone can have an avenue where one can unburden himself of whatever emotional baggage he is carrying.

Oops…..I’m Sorry is an interactive web site that offers people Options, Opportunities, Possibilities and Solutions (OOPS), to deal with the “OOPS” that happen in life. “Oops” as we define it is, anything that goes wrong or is upsetting.

The website aims to foster a place where members can “confess” without being ridiculed or condemned. It also banks on a positive and supportive community, where members help each other out.

The website has several features that any member can take advantage of. There is the Apology To, Apology Due, Confessions and Virtual Conscience.

In Apology To, a member can publicly post a message to acknowledge that something went wrong. If the member is hoping to be forgiven, he can choose to receive a private reply to his Apology To message. Comments can also be made by other members, who can give words of advice or encouragement.

In Apology Due, a member can post a message wherein he expects another to say sorry for the latter’s fault. This is beneficial for anyone who wants to vent his anger, frustration or disappointment, instead of repressing or harboring ill-will against another. The member can likewise receive a private message so that the parties involved can resolve their problems away from public eyes.

In Confessions, a member can post anonymous message to admit a wrongdoing to no one in particular. it is a way of expressing bottled-up feelings; a way of unburdening one’s conscience. Other members can likewise comment on the particular confession. And since the poster of the message is made anonymous, the comments generated will hopefully be focused on the confession, and not on the person confessing.

In Virtual Conscience, members can send positive, guiding, and supportive messages to others. Here’s how it works: “If you know someone is heading down the wrong path, making a bad choice, or just needs a little encouragement, send them a message. It’s easy, simply enter the e-mail address of the recipient, choose a greeting, enter their name, and write your message. Preview the message then save it as a draft, send it or schedule a date and time for delivery.” This feature can be used as a more gentle way of telling someone you know that you are there to help for any problem that the recipient may be going through. It’s a nice way of nudging him back to the right direction, so to speak.

Because sensitive matters are discussed in a website like this, things can possibly get a little unruly. Thankfully, this has not happened in Oops….I’m Sorry. Allie, the website’s creator, makes sure that nothing inappropriate will happen regarding the members or contents of the site. She says in her blog:

Oops…..I’m Sorry is simply a tool. Membership is free, truly free, no hidden agendas no surprise spam. Oops…..I’m Sorry is on the World Wide Web where anyone can find and use it. It was designed to be a site people would like to visit and use (low on visual noise). It was designed to make the task at hand, dealing with something difficult, easier. I have put myself out there, my picture is on the home page and now I have shared this story so you would know who’s behind this site. I have and will continue to do everything I can to ensure the integrity of Oops…..I’m Sorry. That, I will not compromise.