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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Geneseo chapter.

 

Our periods are yet another right of passage for females or female-identifying people. The first time is always awkward, especially if you don’t know what is happening or are in public. Talking about a woman’s time of the month is often considered taboo, and it can be kind of embarrassing. 

 

However, periods happen, and Her Campus at Geneseo correspondents wanted to break the stigma for you all!

 

Sydney Julien

I turned 13 the week before. I didn’t know what it was so I asked my mom. She told me it was my period. I cried. When the dust settled, I felt very grown up and womanly though. 

 

Margaux Carmel

My first two periods both graced me during gym, and being somewhere around 11 or 12, I didn’t have a pad on me to save the day. The process of going up to the gym teacher to say, “I just got my period, what do I do?” was a bit traumatic, but thankfully we had two teachers, and one of them was a woman.

 

Nicole Callahan

I do not remember how old I was, but the morning I got my first period was a Sunday and we had gotten a box of donuts. I went into the kitchen and was very hungry so I ate several donuts. Shortly after that feast I felt a real stomach pain, but I thought it was God punishing me for my gluttony. For several hours I rolled around in my bed, regretting my choices. When I had to pee, I got up and was surprised—God was punishing me after all, but it was for the sins of the first woman Eve and her lust for knowledge. Damnit. 

 

Rebecca Williamson

I was lucky. I was around 11 and I was home for a school break. It was really early in the morning because my parents were getting ready for work. My mom helped me out, and I watched TV all day. 

 

Thanks, mother nature.

Sydney is a member of the class of 2020 majoring in International Relations and Political Science with a minor in French. She is also Vice President of Geneseo's club figure skating team and coaches local kids in the sport on the weekends. While she's not really sure where life is going to take her yet, she's optimistic about the future.
Margaux Carmel

Geneseo '21

Margaux (they/them) is a senior Women and Gender Studies major at SUNY Geneseo. Outside of Her Campus, they work at Geneseo's Office of Diversity and Equity, is on the executive board of Pride Alliance, and is an active Safe Zone trainer. They love to write about diversity, mental health, and environmentalism, with the occasional goofy topic or two (or five). Margaux hopes to someday be the coolest gender studies professor you will ever have.
Nicole Callahan

Geneseo '21

Nicole Callahan is working towards a degree at a college. She has done some things, does other things currently, and would like to do still other things in the future. When she isn’t in one place, she can often be found at another. She loves certain books, foods, and activities.
Rebecca was the Campus Correspondent for Her Campus at Geneseo. She graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in English (Creative Writing) and Communication. Rebecca was also the Copy Editor for the student newspaper The Lamron, Co-Managing Editor of Gandy Dancer, a Career Peer Mentor in the Department of Career Development, a Reader for The Masters Review, and a member of OGX dance club on campus. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter @Becca_Willie04!