Marla D. • California • 31
It was the summer before the eighth grade and I have very faint details, as my period, like many, had a few "firsts" — with months in-between. What I do recall is somehow telling my big brother, who was also my swimming coach, that I "couldn't go to swim practice because I was sick." What else was that day? Team pictures!
As a newbie to the whole thing, I had to find a way to stick a bulky pad in my green one piece, look pretty (while pretending to be sick), and smile for the camera (while freaking out that my pad would show or fall out). I quickly learned how to use a tampon since, well, there was no way I'd miss a week of swim practice every month...
