The story of Kylie’s spanking spread like a California wildfire through our gated community. This was far from our intention. All that we aspired to was to encourage our neighbor to think twice about disparaging her kind husband in public (and perhaps in private as well). According to Chloe, who heard the story from her tennis partner Lisa Markowitz, Kylie was climbing out of the indoor pool at the club the Monday after h...

(Mid 1990s) For many years I worked in the entertainment department of a theme park in Central Florida. It did not pay well at all, but it was great fun. My co-workers were all young adults, like me, all of us just wanting to have fun, while finding ourselves. The nature of our job allowed us to spend more time hanging out on break than actually working. We performed in a twenty-minute show four times a day, and finding w...

Amanda hesitated, her hand hovering over the spinner. She desperately wanted this to be over, but she knew she had no choice. With a shaky breath, she flicked the pointer, watching anxiously as it whirled around the board. The spinner slowed, passing over "Spanking" and "Glory Hole" before finally coming to rest on "Hand Job." Amanda's stomach lurched, a mix of relief that it wasn't something worse and disgust at what she...

Dread bubbled in Amanda's stomach as she thought about tomorrow’s "appointment" with Mr. Reynolds. She had no idea what he had planned for her, but she knew it probably wasn’t going to be good. With a heavy heart, she approached her house, trying to calm herself before facing her parents. Her red, swollen eyes were a dead giveaway to her inner turmoil, so she quickly wiped away her tears and took a deep breath. She couldn...

The warm, lazy days of summer had arrived in full force, and Amanda, a bright-eyed young woman who had just finished her first year at the local community college, was out on her bike exploring the town. Her blonde hair danced behind her as she pedaled along, taking in the sights and sounds of her familiar yet ever-changing surroundings. The tall trees that lined the streets provided pockets of shade from the scorching su...

Anna stood under the warm spray of the shower, feeling the water cascade down her body like a gentle rainfall. She closed her eyes and took in the sensation of the droplets against her skin, the steam enveloping her, and the soft hum of the water filling her ears. As she dried off with a fluffy towel, she caught a glimpse of herself in the fogged-up mirror. Her auburn hair was slicked back, and her skin glowed with moistu...

(Mid 1980s) In our lives, we all suffer embarrassing moments. Some more than others, and to different extremes. But in each, I believe there is something we can learn about ourselves and possibly take the opportunity to grow. I venture to say that what I long thought of as my most embarrassing experience eventually became something for which I am grateful. I turned eighteen in February, was accepted to the University of F...

I had just turned eighteen when my parents first invited my older sister, Chandra, and me to join them on their traditional summer vacation. They never spoke about their yearly trips very much. In our younger years, they would typically say something like, “It’s not a very safe place for young kids.” I didn’t really know what that meant, but to be honest, I never gave it a whole lot of thought. Still, there Chan and I wer...