First Period Stories

Anabelle – 24YO ‘Super Dad’

First Period – 14YO

I was staying at my dad’s house for the weekend when I started experiencing the most excruciating cramps—a completely foreign feeling to me. The pain shot through my lower back and stomach, unlike anything I’d felt before.

When I went to the bathroom, it hit me—I was totally unprepared for this moment. School had taught me what to expect, but when it actually happened, I had no idea what to do. I panicked and started screaming.

I heard my dad sprinting down the hallway. "Are you okay? What’s happened?" he called through the door. Awkwardly, I admitted, "Dad, I just got my period, and I need… something." I wasn’t even sure what that "something" was. A hug? A female figure? Anything to make me feel normal.

The next thing I knew, he was bolting out of the house, nearly taking the front door off its hinges. I sat there waiting on the toilet for half an hour until he finally returned. Without a word, he slid a few products under the door—pads and tampons. I looked at the packaging. Both were labeled SUPER.

I guess with all the screaming, my dad figured super was the safest bet. I looked down and thought, "What the hell am I supposed to do with SUPER tampons?"

The world didn’t end—but at that moment, it definitely felt like it did.

Aimee – 25YO ‘Rose-Coloured Glasses’

First Period – 13YO

I was at the optometrist for an eye exam when they gave me dilation drops—the kind that temporarily impair your vision. Midway through the test, I felt a weird sensation, almost like I had wet my pants.

I asked to use the bathroom and, half-blind, I stumbled my way there, hands pressed against the walls for balance. When I finally made it to the stall and sat down, I looked down—or at least I tried to. Through my blurry vision, I saw a faint stain on my underwear.

Were the drops messing with my eyes? Was I imagining things? I had no idea. So, I did what I thought made sense—I folded up some scratchy toilet paper, tucked it in my underwear, and went on with my day.

It wasn’t until I got to school, feeling that same weird sensation again, that I finally turned to a friend for help. She took one look and confirmed it: I had officially gotten my first period.

Turns out, two-ply toilet paper wasn’t going to cut it.

Sofia – 23YO ‘The Period Fairy’

First Period – 12YO

When I got my period for the first time, I was so embarrassed that I didn’t tell my mum. I was in Year 6—still in primary school!

A few days later, my mum found blood in my bed and just put two and two together. Meanwhile, I had been stuffing my underwear with toilet paper and wearing two pairs of undies at a time to hold everything in place—honestly, I thought it was genius.

One morning, after yet another DIY period hack, I woke up and found $50 under my pillow.

My immediate reaction? Panic. I frantically checked my mouth, convinced I must have lost a tooth in my sleep without realising it. But nope—all teeth accounted for.

Still totally confused but now noticeably richer, I went to my mum and asked, “Why did the Tooth Fairy leave me money when I still have all my teeth?”

She just smiled knowingly and said, “That wasn’t the Tooth Fairy. That was the Period Fairy.”

Monique – 25YO ‘Swimming in It’

First Period – 12YO

I had just gotten home from swimming training, still wearing my light blue one-piece—which, in hindsight, was way too revealing for what was about to happen.

I sat down for dinner with my family, still in my swimsuit, when suddenly, I felt like I had peed myself.

I looked down.

I wasn’t sitting in a pool filled with chlorine—I was sitting in a pool of blood.

It had leaked through my swimsuit and onto our white upholstered chairs.

Talk about a rough day at swimming practice. 😅