No Thanks to Grandma

Mary Pat M.  •  Illinois  •  28

My first period took me totally by surprise. I'm sure my mom had explained to me what would happen at some point, but when I woke in the middle of the night at my grandma's house to blood in my lime green underwear I panicked, thinking I was injured or sick.

---

---

My mom wasn't there and I was too embarrassed to wake my dad or grandma up, so I rummaged through her bathroom looking for something to contain the bleeding. She was past the point of needing to worry about periods (lucky her) and didn't have the necessary supplies.... So of course, I shoved a bunch of toilet paper in my pants until we went home the next day.

When we got home, I told my mom and she made me watch a VHS tape about periods made by a tampon company!

Awkward and Untimely (Much Like Myself)

Kelly H.  •  Indiana  •  23

A cold, January morning I woke up to find that I was no longer just some childish 8th-grader, I WAS WOMAN, HEAR ME ROAR. Armed with a rural public school health education and the advice of American Girl Doll's "The Care and Keeping of You", I knew I needed pads and STAT. Naturally, my mom only kept massive tampons and baby panty liners (and nothing in between) in the bathroom closet. My family's morning routine did not account for any deviation and it took me until half way through the car ride to school to make my move.

In a very flippant and matter-of-fact tone, I told my mom that we needed to go the grocery store because I got my period (cue absolutely zero eye contact as I pretended I had this totally under control and was NOT embarrassed/excited/nervous/all of the emotions). We marched inwards towards the feminine product selection, where my mom walked a fine line of trying to suggest sanitary pads and checking her watch, an apt analogy of our strained relationship if there ever was one. I arrived at gym class that day late with a variety pack of pads in tow.  

---

---

For the next few months, I would routinely stain various seating objects and jeans until I learned how to use my mother's stash of jumbo-super-plus tampons (and to this day, I still scoff at the cutesy, petite tampons that I have never used and only kept in my apartment to offer to others so they do not judge the lifeboat-sized ones I use).

Fake News

Nilufer Y.  •  Ankara, Turkey  •  23

The first time I (thought) I got my period was in second grade. My parents were divorced, so I spent the weekends at my dad’s. What better time to get your period than at your single dad’s place over the weekend? I saw something in my underwear and immediately knew that it was my period. So, we went to the supermarket and went down the feminine hygiene aisle. I must say, I was very excited, but also, a little worried. I was so young! Was this normal??? My parents acted cool about it. There was nothing to worry about.

When I came back to my mom’s, it was clear that I hadn't gotten my period at all. I was disappointed. It was hard to believe because I had accepted the fact that I was a grown woman and now I had to go back to being a kid. I wasn't a huge fan of being a kid.

---

---

I didn't get my period FOR REAL until the week before seventh grade started. Once again, I immediately knew that I had gotten my period, but the signs were even more clear this time. I'm talking about BLOOD, ladies and gentlemen. My dad had gotten married by then, and when him and my step-mom found out, they took me out to dinner.

Because I'm from Turkey and there is a general misconception about the use of tampons, I started using highly uncomfortable pads and severely messed up the first few times I tried them out. But eventually I came to America to start college and with the help of my friends, I was introduced to the world of tampons and I will NEVER go back.