Periods can be tough, but girls are tougher. Did you know that it can cost women up to about $18,000 in her lifetime? For some women, this is not possible. Luckily, there are organizations like Clutch that are there when you need it. Clutch is a western Kentucky based non-profit that donates feminine hygiene products to school-aged girls and homeless women so they can focus on their futures. Clutch currently services 8 local schools, serving over 3,000 girls. Clutch does this by supplying clutches full of feminine hygiene products directly in the girls restrooms, minimizing the time out of class.
In this edition of Spill, we partnered with Clutch to bring attention to the organization.
Here are your most embarrassing period stories:
“I started my period for the first time at school. I didn’t have a pad, so my friend had to discretely slip me one. We connected our sweatshirt sleeves and passed it that way.”
“The first period I had was during the summer. I wore a pantyliner to the pool and planned to take it off before swimming. However, I forgot and got into the pool with it on. I don’t know if the blood was visible in the pool or not, but it was definitely dripping down my leg onto the white-painted concrete when I got out.”
“One of the first few periods I had was during middle school. I was still getting used to it, and I was super nervous about using pads. I started to feel like the blood was getting on my pants, so I went to the bathroom. My pad had started leaking, and I didn’t have any more with me. I had to go to the office and tell them what happened. Then, I called my mom to come pick me up because I was so embarrassed by the small stain on my pants.”
“My period always comes kind of unexpectedly. It’s embarrassing to tell, but it happened in high school. I had a 3-hour class, and I was sitting the entire time. When the class was over, I stood up and guess what I saw? Actually, it was a disaster, but thankfully I wore black jeans that day.”
“I started my period at Logan’s Roadhouse in the 6th grade. My grandma said, ‘Oh my God! She’s a woman now!’ to our waiter, a SUPER cute guy. The worst day ever.”
“I unexpectedly got my period while on the beach on family vacation. We had to go to a foreign grocery store and try to find tampons. It was not fun.”
“When I was in middle school, I swam competitively. I started my period in the middle of a race once, leaving a trail of blood behind me. I played it off like I hit my head on the wall and it was a nosebleed, but no one believed me!”
“In middle school, I started my period in class. I didn’t realize it, and there was a stain on my pants. I got freaked out because I didn’t have any pads with me, and I started crying. I called my mom to come pick me up from school.”
“I had to teach myself how to use a tampon using YouTube tutorials. I’ve never felt like more of a millennial.”
“During lunch in high school, I was eating on a yellow bench. When I got up to leave, I saw blood all over the yellow bench. I had bled through my pants. I texted my girlfriends who were eating with me. One of them said she had a plan. She then proceeded to spill her drink all over the table and bench. She then wiped up the drink and the blood!”
“I started my period in 5th grade. I was wearing green plaid Bermuda shorts. The boy I had a crush on pointed it out to our whole class and asked if I was okay. I was so young I didn’t know what a period was, so I assumed I was dying.”
“I don’t remember what grade I was in, but it was like 11th or 12th. Anyway, I was in class and felt drops, but I legit thought I peed my pants. I got up but didn’t feel the need to go to the bathroom. Then, I realized what it might be. I asked my friend to ‘check me,’ and it was definitely my period. So I had been walking around for a couple hours going unchecked, so that’s gross.”
“The first week I had my period, I jumped on my trampoline with my friends with the sprinkler underneath it. I was using a pad. It got soggy and wet. Gross!”
“One time I started my period in the school bathroom and did not have any feminine products. Everyone I texted couldn’t bring me one. I was in there for so long the teacher sent another girl in to check on me. Thankfully, that girl was able to bring me what I needed.”
“I was sitting on my boyfriend’s lap one day, just talking to him. I knew I was on my period, but I didn’t think it was very heavy. Well, when I got up to go to the bathroom my boyfriend noticed a stain on his shorts. It didn’t show up as red because of the color of his shorts, so I didn’t think of it as being my period. I went to the bathroom while he changed his clothes in the room. I saw how heavy my period was and how it had gotten everywhere! I immediately knew what the stain on his shorts was from, and I almost started crying from embarrassment. I ran back into his room to explain what happened and grabbed his stained clothes. I washed the shorts for him, and he surprisingly wasn’t super freaked out by me bleeding all over him.”
Established in February 2018, Clutch has grown exponentially in the last few months due to the tremendous support and generosity of the community. Clutch gives girls the confidence and supplies needed during such an inconvenient time. The stories like the ones in the article are common for almost all girls. This organization provides supplies in places like schools to hopefully save some girls from having embarrassing stories like the ones above.
If you want to get connected, visit inclutch.org for volunteer opportunities, and fill out a volunteer application!