The day a young girl starts her menstrual cycle is a day to remember. She may experience shame, embarrassment or even confusion. My first day was one that I will never forget. I was warned about what would happen by my older cousins so I wasn't confused. They explained to me that one day I would just start bleeding and I shouldn't be afraid. Thankfully, my cousins informed me on what a cycle was because my mother never talked to me about it. Although it wasn't really a traumatic experience, it was a day that I will never forget.
I was 9 years old and in the 4th grade when I started my cycle. I remember sitting at my desk in the classroom and feeling like I was wet between my legs. I knew I wasn't urinating on myself so I didn't understand why I felt so wet. I raised my hand and asked the teacher to go to the restroom. She gave me a hall pass and allowed me to exit the classroom. When I got up from my seat, I felt a sudden rush of something wet in my pants. I ran to the restroom and found a lot of blood in my underwear and pants. I wasn't scared because I knew exactly what it was. So I went back to the classroom and told the teacher that I started my cycle and she sent me to the nurse's office. The nurse gave me a pad and change of clothes then called my mother. My mother asked me if I was scared and I told her no. She also asked me if I wanted her to pick me up and I told her no. I told her that I was okay and we could talk about it when I got home. When I got home, we talked about what my body was going through and she talked about how proud she was of me for being so brave.
Therefore, I understood what was happening to me because of my cousins. If they hadn't talked to me about menstrual cycles, I probably wouldn't have handled that as well as I did.
Samisha
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Samisha,
ReplyDeleteYour story brought tears to my eyes. Your mother was right, you were very brave. I can't even imagine experiencing my first menstrual cycle at such an early age, I was in the 9th grade. Your experience only goes to prove that children should receive some type of sex education at school because parents sometimes are to reluctant or to busy to explain it to their children.
Vikki D. Littleton
Wow Samisha you started your menstral cyle at an early age. I would have been so scared. I am so glad you had already heard from your cousins about what was going to happen otherwise that could be scary for someone of that age. Thanks for sharing. This lets everyone know that they need to talk to their daughters at an early age about the menstrual cycle.
ReplyDeleteHi, Samisha.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this with us. I don't know that I would have been as brave as you were at the age of nine. You were so young to go through such a change in your life. But at least you had been forewarned by your cousins, and knew what to expect.
Young women are reaching puberty at a much younger age these days, it seems. I reached puberty at the young age of 11 .... over 40 years ago. At that time puberty on the onset of menses typically occurred a little later, maybe mid-to late teen years. I never had the talk with my mother, either, and I thought there was something really wrong with me because I was hurting and bleeding. Needless to say, when my mother and aunt did talk to me about this, I was relieved to know this was normal ... just happened a little sooner than anyone expected.
Your experience, and mine, just reaffirm the need that sex education should continue in schools ... because so many parents don't prepare their children for the inevitable changes that will occur.
Thanks for sharing with us.
Carol Martin
Samisha,
ReplyDeleteLike everyone else I am shocked to hear that you were so young. Unlike you, my mother had a brief talk with me about the menstrual cycle. Having a low education level my mother was uncertain of why this happened but she assured me it was very normal. She gave me a sense of relief when she assured me that this happens to EVERY female. She then proceeded to name all my aunts, both my grandmothers, and the rest of the females in my family that had gone through this, and re-assured me there was nothing to fear.
I had lots of questions for her many of which she was hesitant to answer as she did not want to misinform me, but for the most part she tried her best to answer as many as she was able to.
Thank you for sharing your story and I agree that this is a very special moment in a girl’s life.
Monica L.
Samisha,
ReplyDeleteFirst I would like to say thank you for choosing this post. I had a hard time deciding between this and the sex education one. Sex ed won out because I happen to have very strong feelings about it. I am not really suprised that you started so early. May of the girls that I grew up with started early, including my sister. I don't know if you were the oldest or if that had any influence on your situation. I was the youngest, second daughter in my family. My parents were always very open about sex and all the physical experiences that we would go through. I do not remember ever having a talk with my mother about menstruation. It was just matter of fact. It would happen, there was nothing to be scared of and that was it. I guess my mom would have answered questions if I had them but I didn't. It was neither something to celebrate nor be ashamed of for me.
Thanks for sharing your experience with us. Your post made me think of my oldest daughter. She will be 8 this November and although I think about sex education and know that some day we will have to have "the talk" the time has really crept up on me. Reading your story about how young you were when experiencing this made me realize how soon that day could come for her, and how I better start getting her ready. I was kind of a late bloomer, I did not start my cycle until I was 13 years old. Thanks so much.
ReplyDeleteSamisha, Good thing you were forewarned by your cousins! When it happens during classroom time, the potential is always there for some real embarrassment. My cycle began during class, but I was 12 years old. I was prepared by my mom when I was 9 years old about what to expect but when since it didn’t happen for a few years, I thought, umm, maybe I am the exception. I was thinking “so far so good”. So when it happened, I was kind of surprised by the amount of blood. I was expecting a few drops. Fortunately, you & I survived that eventful day without any emotional scars. Here we are writing about it, who would have thought we would ever be so “sharing”?
ReplyDeleteWow!! Its hard for me to imagine starting so early. I was 14 and thought for the longest something was wrong with me, and was very relieved when "my friend" paid me a visit. How brave in the fourth grade. I am sure the my mother would have had to cart me off for the rest of the day at nine years old.
ReplyDelete