I got my period at age eleven. I wanted it to come earlier, mistakenly thinking my boobs would come along with it. A few cramps and no boobs later, I rued the day our school ever showed us that stupid development movie and handed out little pink "starter kits," packed with panty liners, maxi pads, deodorant and the dreaded tampon. I didn't quite understand how that was going to go up there comfortably; like my butt, it was exit only (hey, I was eleven!). A few more messy maxi-pad periods later, however, I was ready to give it a try one morning. I was so tense I missed school that day but by about 1:30 I had successfully inserted—well, almost successfully, it took a few more periods for me to figure out I wasn't really supposed to feel it while it was up there—a tampon, what I figure is the best way we have, so far, to deal with Aunt Flow. I'm still waiting on those boobs, but in the mean time, let's take a little walk down Memory Lane with the history of menstrual products.
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