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.
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.
