20 Girls Get Real About Getting Their First Period
1. "I was in eighth grade and we all had to present these projects to the class. When I got up and presented to the class, the class looked at me weird. I didn't think any of it, until I saw my teacher bring her hand to her mouth from shock. I then felt something wet behind me and automatically thought, Did I wet myself? But no, it was my period. My teacher told me to go to the bathroom and as I left the room, I kept hearing the boys say,'That's disgusting'. My face turned so red but I didn't want to cry in front of everyone. My teacher then brought me extra school pants and asked if I was okay, and I obviously said no and asked to go home. It was pretty embarrassing, but thankfully no one at school ever brought it up again." - Daniela, 18
2. "I was 13. I remember sitting in my last class of the day thinking, Am I peeing my pants? Am I sweaty? When I went to the bathroom and realized what it was, I actually gasped out loud because after school I was supposed to be going with MY CRUSH to my school's basketball game. I wasn't about to cancel on my crush, so I wadded up toilet paper around my undies like a pad, tied my flannel around my waist, and went to the game. I was definitely grossed out, but mostly just annoyed that I would have to deal with this while I was supposed to be calm, cool and collected with my crush." - Josie, 19
3. "I was 11 years old. The day before I started my period, my friends and I were talking in the back of our friend's pickup truck about how we hadn't gotten ours yet, and then I woke up the next morning on my friends couch in a pool of blood from my belly button down. I was freaking out. I went to the bathroom and started bawling my eyes out and told my friend I couldn't go to school because I had blood all over me. Then I told my friends mom and she gave me a towel to clean the couch with. Super embarrassing." - Lynn, 18
4. "I was 10 years old. I felt panicked. I'd heard about periods, but no one had ever really taken the time to tell me what was going to happen and how to deal with it. But then I went to my mom and mumbled, 'I think I started my period.' I was nervous to tell her for some reason and was scared how she'd take it. But then my grandparents literally threw me a party. My grandfather actually took me to the store and we bought pads and then we went home and celebrated with pizza. Once my grandparents got excited, I realized that maybe it wasn't a bad thing and that it symbolized me maturing into a woman." - Ariana, 16
5. "I was nine years old. I remember coming home after school and getting ready to take a shower. When I pulled down my underwear, I noticed all this dark brown residue. I called for my mom and asked her what it was and she took me into her room to have 'grown-up girl talk' about how I got my period. She also told me that it was normal for me to get it this early, since she first got hers when she was 10 years old. Still, I thought, How could this happen to me? Is this a good or bad thing? Will my friends think differently of me now? It made me very nervous to go to school the next day." - Zaire, 21
6. "I was 13 and felt like a late bloomer. I got it while getting ready for the last day of school. I began praying out of pure horror. I was convinced that stealing and accidentally breaking my mom's Donna Summer CD was the last straw for the Big Man Upstairs and this was my punishment. My mom tried to confront me as I was crying for over two hours over my new best friend: cramps." - Emily, 17
7. "I was 13. I was at school and had no idea what was happening at first, but then I knew. I hid it from my mom for days because I was embarrassed. I ended up using pads because I was too afraid to put a tampon in." - Maddie, 19
8. "I was 10 years old and on a camping trip with my Girl Scout troop - horrible place to get your first period! I freaked out because it sort of looked like poop, but it was in the crotch area, and I told myself that I couldn't have pooped myself because I would know if I did that. I changed my underwear and hoped it wouldn't happen again. I had no idea it was my period because it wasn't red like blood - I didn't know that it could be brown. I was pretty young at this point, so my mom had never really talked to me about it. Every time I went to the bathroom, more stuff would be in my underwear and I would just have to change because I didn't bring any pads." - Kate, 17
9. "I was 16. My doctor was concerned that I was such a late bloomer. Even though I had body hair since I was 11, I didn't have my period. He gave me a few doses of pills that contained a hormone called progesterone that kick-started my period. When I got my period a month later, it lasted for two full, heavy weeks and made me feel faint, dizzy, and exhausted. The embarrassment of bleeding through my underwear was twice as bad because I felt like all my friends had mastered all of this years ago. Luckily, my cycle evened out after that." - Annie, 21
10. "I was 11. I remember that I didn't know what it was, and I was terrified when my mom told me that I had gotten my period. I was mortified because she announced it in front of my principal and the office ladies." - Meghan, 16
11. "I was 13 years old. My friend had gotten hers almost exactly a week earlier, so I felt like I knew what to look for. I was definitely scared at first. I remember telling my mom through tears that I didn't want it yet, and she replied with a gentle laugh, 'No one ever does, honey.'" - Tori, 23
12. "I was 11. When I woke up one morning, I assumed I'd had an accident overnight. I felt like I was the only one of my friends who'd gotten her period because we never talked about it. I felt lonely and trapped. But after I told one of my friends the news, she confessed that she'd gotten her period three months prior and I instantaneously felt so much better and not so alone. Periods bond girls together, even if your cycles aren't synchronized." - Candice, 19
13. "I got my first period the day of my 14th birthday party, but I didn't even realize it until the morning after, which was my actual birthday.I remember yelling out, 'Mom, it happened!' When I got it, I was like 'meh.' It didn't really bother me because my sister and mom were comfortable talking about it." - Lily, 17
14. "I was 14. It was towards the end of summer, and. I was about to start pre-season. I went to the bathroom and there was blood all over my underwear. When I realized I had gotten my period, I just thought it was the worst timing of my life." - Michaela, 17
15. "I was 13 years old when I got my first period. I remember seeing stains in my underwear when I woke up that were too close to the front to be poop stains. I called for my mom. She explained that I had just started my period. I was confused and scared because I didn't know what that meant and wondered what was happening to my body. Soon after, my middle school had a Sex-Ed class and I found out why periods exist." - Jacky, 21
16. "I was 11 when I first got my period. I remember being in the bathroom in my elementary school, and looking down at my underwear and knowing what was happening, but not knowing what to do about it. For some reason, I figured the nurse wouldn't have any pads or supplies, so I created a diaper out of toilet paper and wore that around for the entire school day until I got home. Luckily for me, I had been pretty educated on the whole ordeal, so I wasn't necessarily scared. I had a rush of excitement for a bit, as I knew it meant that I was 'officially a woman.' I was also nervous about how often I needed to change my pad, so I would frequently go to the bathroom and panic if my pad was slightly marked." - Chelsea, 17
17. "I was 13. I was in school when it happened, but it was towards the end of the day, so I didn't go to the nurse (probably also because I was embarrassed). We had the pad and tampon machines in school, but they never actually had products in them. I went home after school and just sat on my bed and put on pajamas and talked to my mom for a little about it. I felt a little cheated having only 13 years of period freedom. But I was the third one of my friends to get it, so I knew what to expect." - Kaitlyn, 22
18. "I got my period a week before my 13th birthday, the same day I was scheduled to run in a 5k, so I associated my cramps with that. I'm lucky that my mom prepared me really well for the experience. I had been given a book about it when I was younger and I wasn't really afraid." - Margaret, 16
19. I was 11. I had gone to dinner with my friends and their mom after school and found a brown stain in my underwear. I stuffed toilet paper down there and didn't tell anyone, praying that they'd take me home soon. I was so embarrassed as I was the first of my friends to start my period." - Tori, 21
20. "I was 12. I sat down to use the toilet, and when I stood up, I noticed a red tint in my urine. Almost immediately after, I felt a sharp pain in my lower abdomen. I felt as though I was undergoing the transformation into a newborn vampire. The excruciating pain and crippling fear disappeared the minute my mother revealed that I had gotten my first period. I instantly jumped into the shower to rid myself of the mess and cry. Then I put on a pad." - Valerie, 17
Hannah Orenstein is the assistant features editor at Seventeen.com. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram!
('You Might Also Like',)