My First Period

From the time my mom told me about periods, I remember thinking periods were so cool, grown-up and interesting. I wasn’t scared at all, which I largely attribute to my mom making them seem like no big deal at all. If I ever have a child who gets a period, I hope to parent them the same way during puberty.

I barely remember my first period, but I do remember that it sucked. I’ve been a perioding person for almost ten years now, which seems insane to me. That’s… 120 menstrual periods. Hot damn.

When I got my first period I was twelve, sitting in my homeroom, which was also my social studies classroom. I was in 7th grade, and I just remember having to pee. I went to wipe, and I was absolutely shocked at what I saw. Shocked and excited. I had no pads or tampons, of course, but I had read in a puberty book from my mom that you could make a makeshift pad out of toilet paper, so that’s what I did. I also tied my Victoria’s Secret PINK hoodie around my waist just in case I leaked through my pants.

I texted my mom from my RAZR flip phone, then ran and told all my friends. Between my boobs that were already a C cup, and now my period, I was the talk of the friend group for a while. None of them had gotten it yet. I was bombarded with questions. It felt really cool.

For the rest of that day, though, I was in serious pain. I curled up on the couch and drank tea that my mom made. She helped me through it, and she still does today when I go visit home. Six years later, after years and years of periods that caused me serious pain, I was diagnosed with endometriosis, a debilitating condition that only affects menstruating people. The symptoms? Bloating that makes me look pregnant, nausea, fatigue, heavy and nonstop bleeding with lots of clots, and of course terrible cramps.

Now every month, because of my birth control, my period comes very regularly. I know what’s coming, and I prepare like I’m going into battle - with tea, my Diva cup (best friend), my period panties, sweatpants and my hot water bottle. What’s your period kit? Your absolute essentials for that time of the month?