Thembisile's Reflection
You know, sometimes I miss being a little girl.
When I didn't have to carry the weight of being a woman. When I wasn't asked, "Are you on your period?" as if that was enough to invalidate how I felt. I miss being able to express myself without my womanhood being used against me.
Then I realised something.
Instead of longing to be that little girl again, why not embrace my womanhood? Why not be kind to my body? Why not listen to my body?
Today, I can say,
"Yes, I'm on my period,
and I'm grateful to my body for doing what it was beautifully created to do,
in the way it knows how."
I was eleven years old when I got my first period.
I was excited, but shocked at the same time.
There were so many emotions swirling inside me, but above them all was happiness.
"I'm finally growing up."
It felt just like the day I got my first bra.
But then came the throbbing pain.
The kind of pain no one told me about.
The kind of pain that had me rolling on the floor, wishing I could rip my uterus out just to make it stop.
Every period.
Every pad change.
Every attempt to swallow another pill that I thought I'd have to take for the rest of my life until menopause.
And every single time, I was told,
"It's normal. It's part of being a woman."
But today, I'm here to tell you...
That pain is not normal.
Please...
Listen to your body.
Your body speaks.
It tells you when something isn't right.
Don't ignore it because someone says, "Every woman goes through it."
Ask questions.
Seek help.
You know your body better than anyone else.
And your body deserves to be heard.
Thank you.