Ella F • New York • 13
I was 13 (the same age I was at time of posting this). I had had heavy discharge and was just waiting for my period to come, especially since my doctor had told me I would get it “any day now” a whole year ago. On the day it happened (Monday, December 2nd), we got off school early and arrived earlier than my mom. I went to the bathroom and I saw I had pinkish discharge in my underwear.
My first thought was “OMG I just got my period, but then I wasn’t even sure if it was actually my period since it was pinkish and not red or brown like I thought periods were supposed to be. I texted my mom and my friend (who had gotten hers a year earlier) and asked them what to do. I knew how to use pads and had plenty under the sink since I had been waiting for my period for so long, but I wasn’t even sure this was it.
I called to my sister (who was two years older than me but still hadn’t gotten her period yet) as if she knew something that could help me. She wasn’t sure if it was my period either but she did get me clean underwear and a panty liner. When my mom got home, she confirmed that it was my period and I was extremely excited. I had been waiting for it forever.
The next day, I was in the bathroom changing my pad, and I was extremely surprised at the amount I could bleed. I exclaimed “wow, that’s a lot of blood,” and my friend (the one from earlier) who was in the stall next to me just laughed since she obviously knew how much blood there could be after getting her period for a year.
If you are reading this before getting your first period, remember you can bleed a lot more than you think you can.
