"That Time Things Got Weird: A Period Primer"
Hi there, everyone! Okay, so it may be a menstrual duration, or too much information, for some; however, I wanted to share something that happens to… well, half the world. Your first period! It was, let’s just say, a unique experience for most girls. I was approximately 12 when it occurred to me. I was doing my regular work – school, meeting, and obsessing over the most recent boy ensemble… you know… the usual. However, one day I witnessed the bloodstains my underwear and was a total freak-out. What is going on? Was I injured? I don’t know whether I also spilled anything; I was screaming internally.
I didn’t dare ask my mom, of course. Periods were a super-secret topic in our house. But fortunately, I had my older sister, Prakriti. She was my superhero, always ready to answer my awkward questions. So, I crept into her room, my face burning red, my voice all shaky, and spilled the beans. The look in retrospect was undoubtedly comical. Prakriti, bless her heart, stayed super cool. She laid everything out – what periods were, why they were happening, that it was entirely normal. aaah. Emptied over me. So, it wasn’t some bizarre alien invasion that was happening with me. It was just something I had to go through as I was growing up.
The months that followed were an adjustment period. I mastered the pad drill; I would avoid inevitable leaks; and I had sometimes-cramps, which, without question, were a wholehearted doze. Does that sound a bit scattered? Spoiler alarm: I leaked a few times. However, here’s the point: it wasn’t unbearable. To be honest, it promptly turned into a source of pride among my friends. Any leakage we had, ergo! We overcame it. The goods and the bad, pretty much anything!
The situation, in retrospect, I wish I had known several things before. Firstly, your period is your own. If some girls get periods earlier, some later, and some cramps are irritating but others leave you incapacitated in bed, it’s all normal! Second, talking about your periods should not be shameful! A period is not a dirty little secret, so if you have questions, ask your mother, sister, Aunt, friend, whomever.
Finally, periods are no big deal. They are simply a fact of life. They’re neither vile, nor bizarre, and they certainly don’t make you who you are. They’re simply a normal, straightforward aspect of your body functioning the way it should. So, the next time you have a period, do not freak out about it; take it, maybe not literally, and get some chocolate, because that’s also nice, and realize that we’re all suffering it together.
After the initial shock as well as a period of adjustment, my period marked some types of strange gateway presently into womanhood. I felt as if I had unshaped been unduly initiated into a secret society. It was precisely as if overnight there are many unspoken rules as well like certain expectations. Magazines were regularly packed with airbrushed models in ideal white shorts along with nary a stain in objective. Needless to tell life is unexpected, as well as periods, could oftentimes be messy liable to stains. They could be unpredictable as inconvenient.
Menstruation is not necessarily the best aspect of being a girl, but it is a part of life for much of the population, so let us talk about it openly. Reducing the taboo surrounding it will make the world a happier place and help make it a little easier for ladies of all ages. The next time somebody is holding a suspicious box in the shop path, don’t glare. Because you’ve been through it all before, or because you might even see it next year. And don’t forget, if you need a pad or an ear to sow it into, we’ve all got it covered – and not just in a literal sense!