I remember it like it was yesterday, the 9th of April 2007, a seemingly ordinary Saturday that was anything but ordinary for me. I was 11 years old, and amidst the flurry of excitement and curiosity surrounding periods at my school, I found myself eagerly awaiting my turn. By this time, about half the girls in my class had started theirs. Some as early as P4 & P5.
As I went along my day just laughing, watching cartoons and playing with my little sister, I stood up to go help myself and saw a mysterious reddish spot on my undergarment. I was over the moon but simultaneously unamused, I didn’t know whether it was a period or something to be scared about because from the whispers around school about how periods were, it was supposed to be a deluge and very painful, so obviously this little spot and zero pain kind of confused me about the situation so I decided to keep it to myself while wrestling with my thoughts and the fear of the unknown.
A few moments later, maybe an hour or so, I felt something coming out and as I stood up to go check, my little sister, then 4 years old ran and told my mum what she had seen while I stood up! The fear and apprehension consumed me and my mind was racing with terrifying thoughts of illnesses and dire medical interventions because remember it was just a tiny spot with no pain as I expected. My mum, however, simply told me I needed to be careful because I could now get pregnant yet I needed to finish school before I think about that.
I remember her giving me this talk and then me being very excited to tell my close girlfriends about it at school. As if orchestrated by mother nature, we all started our period within that month and continued to share the red days like that until the thrill palled and we went on with our lives. I am so grateful to have had them at that time, we navigated the ups and downs of periods together, from the unexpected starts to sharing pads when one of us was caught unprepared, long before the days of period trackers.
Anyway, despite the initial fear and confusion, the experience turned into one of excitement and bonding.
This was my first period experience.