I spoke to a few women about going through menarche. 

The first woman that I asked said that it was neither a positive or negative experience. She said that she told her mom and that her mom just helped her get feminine protection and explained to her what was going on.

The second woman said she told her mom that she was having a period and then her mom told her dad. She said that she was very embarrassed and horrified when her dad found out. Her mom tried to send her to the store to buy some pads but, she didn’t want to go because she thought that the people at the store would know that they were for her.

The third woman that I spoke to said that when she started her period she started crying and wrote her mom a note that told her to come into the bathroom. She was very upset about the situation and didn’t want anyone to know.

The first two women that I asked are sisters, but they are 5 years apart. The third woman is one of my friends that I went to school with. My situation was more similar to hers. I believe that I was probably embarrassed, because I was so shy and boys at my school teased girls about it. Plus, it means one extra thing that you have to worry about!

Now that I am older, I realize how silly it was to get embarrassed about it because it happens to everyone. I just think at the age that most girls start, they are already having peer pressure, teasing, and crazy emotions. It’s just really confusing because you hear about what happens and then when it actually happens, you are shocked. I think the way you take it probably depends on personality, culture, and other things. But, I do feel bad for the girls like me that were really embarrassed and I hope that most girls will learn to accept it as a natural thing.