12 Millennial Women On Their First Self-Pleasure Experiences

Spring is a time of revival and new awakenings. Nature manifests its first beautiful glimpses of the season through the budding of flowers, the chirping of birds, and the sunny sky pushing its way into the forefront of our minds. Accordingly, May is National Masturbation Month, and there is indeed much joy and sunshine to be celebrated.

Masturbation is a powerful form of self-love and a physical expression of our sexual energy. "There are an endless number of reasons to masturbate," Vanessa Marin, sex therapist and founder of Finishing School, tells Bustle. "Learning how to make yourself orgasm is the most empowering experience you will ever have. You'll also learn how to teach a partner how to bring you pleasure."

The moments of our lives that we begin discovering our bodies should be cherished — and for many of us, they happen before puberty or before we become sexually active. Our first time masturbating may arise out of an innocent curiosity for the wonder of our bodies.

I was precocious with my masturbation habits and experimentation. During First grade, during our obligatory daily pledge of allegiance I would put my leg on the chair. I realized if I got up too soon I would feel a tickley sensation there because my heel was pressed up against the special spot I lovingly referred to as "Tussi". I'd have trouble getting up during the pledge of allegiance because it felt so good. Every day, I would kind of linger. In my humble opinion, they needed to make the pledge of allegiance longer and involve every other countries. I didn't fully understand the act that I was engaging in — or that it wasn't exactly appropriate classroom behavior.

Curious about other women's first moments of sexual self-experimentation, I spoke to 12 Millennial women about the first thing they ever masturbated with. Here's what they said.