Superbowl Sunday

Christina H.  •  Washington  •  25

It was Superbowl Sunday and I was one week from turning 13. I also had CCD (religious education) that evening and realllllly didn't want to go because Superbowl Sunday was way more fun. 

Well I got my period, thought it was alarming but wasn't totally phased since a middle school friend had started hers to same week. I minorly freaked out, yell-whispering for my mom to rush upstairs to the bathroom. She gave me a very large, long pad to stuff into my sweatpants. I thought I deserved at least the sick-day treatment and begged not to have to go to CCD. Still had to go. Missed the SuperBowl, and had a large diaper-ish pad in the entire time.

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I did think I had won the biology lottery for getting my period so close to my 13th birthday, that the closest to 13 you were the better. Little did I know I certainly could have waited a few more years since I'm stuck with it for awhile now!

The Internet & Me

Michelle C.  •  Colorado  •  22

I first got my period when I was around 11 or 12 years old. I remember very clearly I was in the upstairs bathroom of my childhood home and when I sat down to pee, I noticed a little brownish red spot on my underwear. 

I remember being unnaturally calm about it and for some reason it clicked in my head that this must be my period. I had an older sister, but we never talked about periods and bodily functions/changes and my health class always taught me that periods were supposed to be BLOODY. Other than that, I don't remember learning anything else about my period, so it still surprises me to this day that I knew what that stain on my underwear was.

I yelled to my mom: "MOM I THINK I STARTED MY PERIOD" and no answer. I think she was on the phone downstairs, but thank god for having sisters because I rummaged around the cabinets and I found some overnight pads. You know, those insanely thick diaper-like pads.

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I read the instructions on the box on how to put it on and hiked up my pants and waddled over to find my mom. I told her "hey mom, I think I started my period" and she gets up and asks me if I needed anything and tries to find me a pad. She finds a thinner one and I go and put that on and she teaches me how to roll up my pad and dispose of it in the trash can. 

Periods were never a crazy life-changing special moment in my household. It was more of a "oh great, you got your period, that's normal" and we never really spoke of it. I had to learn everything else myself like how often I should change my pad and eventually how to put a tampon in. I really appreciate how easily accessible information about anything is in the internet, without it I'm pretty sure I'd be freaking out.

Pool Party FOMO

Kate W.  •  New York  •  29

I think I was 12 years old... it was the summer and I had a flute lesson in the morning and then was going to my friend's house to go swimming in her pool that afternoon. I got home from my flute lesson and went to the bathroom and saw the bloody mess in my underwear! I yelled, "MOOOOMMMMMMM" and she came running and I told her I thought I got my period.

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She confirmed that was the case and asked how I felt as she started to take out a big bulky pad. I said, "MOM! I'm going to a pool party!! Show me how to use a tampon!!" and she couldn't believe I wanted to still go to the pool party, haha! I have serious FOMO so there was no way I was missing out on a pool party because of my lousy period. So, I successfully used a tampon and had a blast of a day!