I didn’t understand what was going on until my coach announced, in front of the entire warm up room of probably 200 people that I had become a woman and started my period. Mind you, our uniform was powder blue, because of course it was. This all took place about 5 minutes before we had to perform. So, I get a pad and borrowed a set of spanx, and performed, clearly traumatized.
After the competition, we get back to the hotel room and as it turns out, the only underwear I have with me is the blood stained underwear I had on. Because of course. That was the last time I ever allowed my mom to pack a bag for me. This was also before cellphones were very common place, especially for young kids, so my cheer coach told my mom about me “becoming a woman” when she picked me up the next night.