Let's Talk!

I am 11 years old and just had my first period in April. My entire first experience was more than I was prepared for that Thursday afternoon. I came home from school and went to the bathroom like any other day. When I was finished, I wiped my bottom and saw blood. I yelled for my mom who came to the bathroom and told me to throw that paper away and wipe my vagina with fresh toilet paper. There was so much blood. My mom calmly told me - it’s your period baby girl. We then checked my underwear and my jeans and they were soiled with blood which meant this happened at school!! I was so shocked and I hoped no one saw my jeans. My mom and I had many period conversations before, which made me feel that I would be ready when my period came. I was definitely NOT ready. I even had my period kit in my book bag for this day but ended up not using it that day.  I was shocked and had many different emotions. I cried because I started thinking about my clothes and if the blood would show through it at school or if the period panty would show under my clothes. I was also scared about my dance and swim classes and what I would wear. I worried about going to bed because I wasn’t sure if the sheets would get messed up. I wore my period panty to school with extra liners the following day so I felt pretty good that nothing would leak through. My mom bought me some disposable period panties to sleep in which I called my diapers because they were very padded but they helped me to sleep and not worry about the sheets getting messed up.  My period lasted 7 LONG days which was the longest week of my life. By day 7, I was relieved that it was finally over and I felt that I would be ready for the next time. Hope the next time doesn't come too soon though!

I had my first period when I was in 6 grade. I didn’t know much about it from my mom or school. But you heard all kind of stories from friends and how discomfort it will be. little did I know , when it was your turn , you will be scared , panic and not knowing what to do. There is one thing for sure is that “ period “ is something “ bad “. It make your body very painful with cramp , and the blood is some dirty stuffs from your body. Thankfully, i had my first period when I was not in school so my mom got me the pad. Otherwise I will be so embarrassed to have my first period in school with no pad and we have pure white dress uniform. which make it super obvious with blood stain. I was a very shy kid When I was little. And since I thought the period is not a good thing, ( it is something dirty from your body , it makes the blood stain on your dress, and it make your body cramps etc) …there it make me more separate from other kids. Because I don’t want anybody to know that I have Period and worried that the blood might leak , and that will show on my “ white dress uniform“ .

As one of the younger kids in my 8th grade, I realized very early on that I was also one of the least developed - flat chested, no juicy stories about boys I liked and definitely no period. I attended an all girls high school (Mt. Alvernia High) where the required uniform was a white dress with a blue tie. It was not uncommon for girls to have a spot of blood on their lily white dresses, indicating their period had arrived. I don't recall having any such incident. In fact, my first period started on a weekend and my mom quickly explained what was happening and provided me with sanitary napkins. My periods were non-incidental, in that I had very limited cramps which was more of an indicator that my period was about to begin. I saw a few of my friends struggle with cramping and vomiting that sometimes left them taking sick days from school. I just didn't quite understand why there was a disparity between my experience and theirs. However, I tried my best to be there for my affected friends. I often wished this monthly inconvenience would end. Little did I know that my wish would prematurely come true when I was administered chemotherapy 30 years later which pushed me into early menopause and permanently halted my period. I have to admit that this collateral damage was a welcome side effect of adjuvant treatment for breast cancer.