It’s always been a tradition at my house to celebrate any festive day – from Easter to Diwali and even more! The one thing we tend to keep a bit more casual is New Year’s Eve.
When I was younger, it was always about enjoying time with the family. This included my parents, sister and no one else. A dinner at a restaurant with loud music and gorging on food like we’ve been starving for at least a day. But once the clock struck midnight, we would be up an out of our seats to head home to recover from that food coma.
After a couple of years, my friends and I started a tradition to go out and celebrate together, obviously this was so that we could participate in the 3Ds of the night – drink, dance and down the food. But after a few years, the appeal slowly faded when I got my period on the day.
My cycles have been sporadic due to a few hormonal issues for a few years, which lead to intense cramps, heavy bleeding and discomfort for all 7 days of my period with no help from any medication.
Aunt Flow obviously came while I was getting ready for my night out. I was a bit uncomfortable throughout the day but just brushed it off as anxiety for dealing with shoebites after the night ended. Once the cramps kicked in, it was game over.
Most of my life has been spent being a people pleaser i.e I can be very easily persuaded to listen to others and make them happy. So with half a face of makeup and pain, you can imagine the challenge that I faced.
Being young and wanting to comply with your friend’s collective decision is normal, but at that moment I just couldn’t sit back and bear the multiple possibilities of things going wrong. What if I stain my clothes, what if the cramps get worse, what if I come back by myself mid-way, what if my friends think I’m being selfish.
Even with these thoughts, I gathered the courage to call my best friend and tell her I couldn’t make it. The one thing people underestimate is the empathy of others. She immediately reminded me that I couldn’t control what my body does but I can control how to manage it.
So after changing into my pyjamas and a hot water bag, I got ready to spend my evening away from all the fun. It was however only 20 minutes later when my bedroom door opened and 3 girls in their pyjamas came in with snacks to make sure no one missed out on the fun.
No matter where you are, if your period is on or not – the fun lasts with people first.
