Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Confessions.
Dressed to Impress
It was the summer of Abercrombie and Fitch, ironic trucker hats, over-sized sunglasses, and Paris Hilton...and I was about to start my Freshman year of high school. I had begged and pleaded with my parents all summer to let me attend public school- promising to attend youth group meetings every Sunday, in exchange for a chance to never have to wear a uniform or follow a frumpy dress code ever again. Not to mention, my two best friends, Zoë and Olivia, were in public school and I desperately wanted to be in the same school as them.
By Danielle Hein5 years ago in Confessions
Freeing the fish was a selfish act
To misquote "Ol' Blue Eyes" aka the late Frank Sinatra in the eponymous "My Way", regrets, I've had a ton. When I saw those two beautiful, stippled fish in the bucket at Uncle Laurie and Auntie Shirley's house, my heart went out to them.
By Shirley Twist5 years ago in Confessions
Crossing Boundaries
Contrary to popular opinion, Americans are not the most well-respected foreigners abroad. Being a “USA”, according to my entry documents, Hong Kong was less than impressed with the super-charged culture clash that comes with a twenty-something-year-old American discovering herself in such an environment. I worked hard to disprove some of these notions by partaking in local rituals and learning what I could of the language. I greeted the elders and showed my respect as best I could. In the end, I really couldn’t take the American out of the girl, as it were.
By Deborah Nava5 years ago in Confessions
Stuck in a Soda Pop Bottle
When I was young, soda pop only came in bottles. One day, I thought it would be clever to show off to my siblings a trick of how I could suck my upper lip inside the bottle top of my Mr. Pibb, then let go of the bottle and stretch my arms out, holding the entire weight of that Mr. Pibb with nothing but the amazing strength of my upper lip. “Ta da!” I managed to shout with just my teeth and my lower lip. "What a marvelous accomplishment,” I gleefully thought to myself. “This will give me bragging rights over my poor, lesser-accomplished siblings!” But my bravado came to a shrieking halt when when I suddenly realized—I was stuck!
By Karla Bowen Herman5 years ago in Confessions
My Merry-go-round Fail
At recess, the boys thought it was great fun to twirl the girls faster and faster on the merry-go-round, as we held on for dear life. It was a boy's wildest dream to send a girl sailing through the air, to her demise... Of course, I was the only girl who ever forgot you should NEVER let go. I don’t 100% recall why I let go after the merry-go-round had gathered too much speed… Looking back, that was just craziness on my part!
By Karla Bowen Herman5 years ago in Confessions
Pedal Pusher Picture Day
In 3rd grade, I wore some capris to school for the very first time; they were hand-me-downs from my cousin. (Of course, back then we called them “pedal pushers”.) As fate would have it, it happened to be Picture Day, the day I wore those pedal pushers. Not understanding that I was supposed to wear them with either anklets, bobby socks, or nothing besides flip-flops; I somehow managed to leave the house without Mama noticing that I had kicked off my flip-flops and pulled up really high fuzzy brown knee socks over the bottom of my red pedal pushers, so my legs wouldn’t get cold. “What kind of mother sends me to school with such high-water trousers?” I wondered.
By Karla Bowen Herman5 years ago in Confessions
The Naked Man In The Mirror
I woke up excited on Saturday, October 29, 2013. Today I was getting my Zumba certificate at my local YMCA. I have been taking a Zumba class for a year and was loving it. So, I decided to become an instructor. I made my usual breakfast of apple cinnamon oatmeal with a banana. I packed a lunch and filled my water bottle. Today was going to be a fun day of learning and dancing.
By Melissa Bezborotko 5 years ago in Confessions
I Gave Up Drinking For 90 Days And Nothing Got Better
The previous twelves months have been particularly tough on most people so when 2021 dawned I thought I would do a “good thing” and quit booze. There are many websites, You Tubers and other sober experts who extol the virtues of quitting alcohol. My friends and family all swear by a Dry January and a Stoptober to prove their lack of addiction and how wonderful going alcohol free is. It was all so tempting and on Christmas Day I consumed my final glass of wine and looked forward to the dawn of a new dry life.
By Fiona Lawley5 years ago in Confessions
Frozen peas, please
I've never called my Mum on the phone crying before. Either my life has been a series of good fortune that I've never felt the urge to call Lorraine and let her know how terribly unfair something was, or I've stuck to my ethos in that crying is a personal thing, and doesn't really need an audience. Either way, that tradition was shattered when I was in Prague.
By Megan Maxwell5 years ago in Confessions
Karma Comes Full Circle
Let me start by saying that I’ve had a knack for video games ever since I was a kid. For some reason, I’ve been innately good at them. Whenever I walked into an arcade (for those who’ve never been in one think of it as a big room with a bunch of PS5s or Xbox Ones, but they’re in giant cabinets and they only each play one game) I made every single quarter that I put into those machines count. The best part of spending my time in arcades wasn’t necessarily just playing the games themselves. Playing against people made the experience so much better. I’m not a necessarily competitive individual, but I do have a problem with the arrogance that came from people, specifically older people. They always seemed to walk up to me with this smug look on their faces like they just expected me to shrink in fear because they were taller. Whenever anyone older than me would face me, they usually had to use a minimum of two plays. The first when they tried to “take it easy on me,” and the second when they found out that was a very bad idea the first time through. Regardless of the outcome, it gave me great pleasure to see that look of arrogance change to one of angry respect or just anger period as they walked away in inevitable frustration. As I grew older, I knew that I would experience that same feeling of being beaten by someone younger than me. I just never thought that experience would also come with an embarrassing bonus.
By Anthony Hall5 years ago in Confessions
