My first period story. So we were on our way from California to Arizona to visit family members. And I was with my mom, my brother, and probably my aunt or something like that. We used to travel in – like, it was a lot of us – so we used to travel in two vans everywhere we would go. So it’s a six-hour car ride, essentially, and we would always stop halfway to go to the bathroom.
And so on our way, and I knew that we were almost getting to our halfway point, I started feeling uncomfortable down there. I was like, ‘Huh, it’s odd. Why is this starting to feel… you know, I need to go to the bathroom.’ So I went to the bathroom and that’s essentially when I saw the first bleed. And I panicked and I didn’t know what to do. So definitely did not tell my mom. I just got a bunch of paper, rolled it, and put in my underwear, and I just sat in the car the whole time, just, you know, wondering, ‘Oh my gosh, what am I gonna do?’
And I already kind of had an idea because I was definitely a late bloomer. So I knew more from my friends than I did from school about what was happening. And at that point my mom hadn’t really talked to me about it at all, really. I was 14, so really late compared to most of my friends. And, I mean, the only thing I knew was because I found tampons under her bed and I asked her what that was and she was like, ‘Don’t ask me those questions.’ And so really, she really did not talk to me about that.
And so it was uncomfortable the whole second half. And then finally we get to my uncle’s and I just run into the bathroom and lock myself in there. And I probably was in there for a good like 40 minutes until my mom finally realized that I was in there for a long time. And she went in in there and I was crying and she was like, ‘What happened?’ So I told her, and then it was my uncle’s house, so he didn’t really have anything for us. And so my uncle actually went out and went to go get me some pads, because he didn’t have any in the house. And yeah, she taught me how to put it on and she told me it was fine and it was normal and not to be scared. And that was my first experience.
And so what are you doing now?
Now it has impacted my life because I was so confused and scared and I don’t want anybody to feel like that anymore. And that really is what drove me to understand what’s going on scientifically so that I can teach it from that lens as well. Because that’s important to me to understand how biologically– how, you know, I work.
And as an adult now, learning those hormonal shifts and how they affect not only my mood, but my brain function and my energy, I’ve used that to my advantage in how I live now. And so I don’t work against my period. I’ve learned how to work with it and flow with it to benefit myself and my career and where I wanna go. And I feel that that has empowered me so much that I want to teach young girls that, so that they learn how to do that for themselves, so that they feel empowered to take those steps and whatever that looks like for them in creating the life that they want and not feel so scared.