Justine M. • California • 30
Seventh grade was not my most confident or graceful year. I was a shy kid just trying to navigate the awkwardness of real life. I was blessed with crooked teeth and decaying eyesight, so at twelve years old I was lucky enough to have both braces and glasses. Super attractive, I know.
What a great time to officially make my grand entrance into womanhood! Although I was one of the lucky ones who started my period alone in the comfort of my own bed while asleep, I was still not the least bit prepared when I woke up on a Saturday morning to something unexpected in my Limited Too underwear. Ok, so I got my period… was that it? Was that all the blood that would come out of me for the month? So many questions that could have been answered if only I had paid more attention to the “your body and puberty” video they showed us in fifth grade.
I quickly put my soiled underwear in a bag and buried it at the bottom of the garbage can – no evidence. Armed with a single pad (courtesy of the “party favor” every fifth grade girl received after watching the puberty video), I sought out my mom. She was sitting at the kitchen table, but unfortunately so was my little brother. Couldn’t he just go back into his room to play or something? What was he even doing up this early? I pretended like it was a normal Saturday morning for what was probably only ten minutes but felt like hours until I finally got my mom alone. We bought some pads and “teen-friendly” tampons, and I tried to block as much of the morning out of my mind as possible.
