Well lily we discussed this quite a bit the other night one on one but I'll chip in the short version publicly as well for the sake of adding to a very fine conversation. Of course pretty much all my answers come with an asterisk since as a switch I walk both sides of the line.

1. Why do you submit? What is the drive? What is the reward?
I submit because, for me, it honestly feels more comfortable than a "vanilla" situation, and it's honestly much easier, or perhaps a better way to put it is for me it feels more "natural" to me. I struggled a great deal to make connections with people before I got into the Lifestyle, but since coming into it my ability to interact with people within this community has improved so much. In short, it feels like it's where I belong.

The drive is more or less a feeling one gets inside them, I generally refer to it as "the hunger" because in many ways it feels like a form of addiction to me. D/s is one hell of a drug. Please use responsiblyl

The rewards are hard to condense into a paragraph. Yes, pleasing my partner is definitely hugely important to me. I take a great pride in knowing that I've pleased my partner as they desire to be pleased. But also the amount of mental growth I've gone through both alone and witha partner in D/s has been quite substantial. To me the process is as much about building a bond of trust and respect, and growing as a person, as it is about anything else.

2. How did you ever start down this path? Any bumps along the way?

Unlike some people, I never felt like a sub when I was young, and I certainly didn't have kinky fantasies as a kid or even as a teenager. I didn't get into this until into my 20's, and I started as one of those people with about a billion miss conceptions about the Lifestyle. I came to it through my interest, at first, in more experienced women, a degree of even looking for "mommy" at one point. Which eventually spawned into my first D/s relationship with a Domme. In hindsight I was probably looking for a Domme all along, but I didn't know enough at the time to give those ideas a form or a voice.

3. If your submissive side of your personality is different than your "everyday" self, how do you reconcile the two? How do you switch back and forth? What is your trigger for getting into "sub mode?"

I have a very hard time drawing a boundary between the D/s me and the vanilla me. I guess the shortest answer is the vanilla day to day me is certainly more of the act, where as the D/s me is more the real person. FOr me it's not so much getting into either sub or Dom mode, as it is turning it off to get into vanilla mode.

4. Anything you dislike about it? Anything you would rather change?

Wouldn't change a damn thing about myself in terms of my role in D/s. For me, a huge part of this journey has been learning to accept *all* of me. The good parts, as well as the parts that need work. I think that's part of the journety I'm on personally, learning that accepting all of who you are is vitally important.

5. Does any of the above change based on whether or not you have a current partner?

People are always changing, partner or not. Staying static is an illusion. But big philosophical statements aside, the majority of my advancement has come through either my partner or serious conversation with trusted friends. Certainly those are the times when the most gets done, though I think periods of solitary self-reflection are still very important.

I, and several of the others, could probably write a thesis when it comes to answering your five questions, and they are really only the beginning as I know there is more to come. Here's hoping this thread carries onwards.