On the subject of the ol' Judy Blume classic...

[Wrath0fKuus]

...Are You There, God?  It's Me, Margaret, how did you view puberty as a youngster, both before and after it started?  Did you look forward to your period?  Dread it?  Not care much?  Did you feel any sort of way when it eventually happened?  How about the whole growing boobs thing?

I was going to add a clicky poll, but I thought it would be more fun to talk about it.

[Deleted]

It just happened to me really early and I was so embarrassed by it. I had a chest when I was 9. NINE!! And then I got my period when I was 10 - in fifth grade. NO one else was going through this. It was so mortifying and my parents/mother wouldn't talk to me about it. It was a very difficult time for me.

[dixienormous]

my mother is a labor and delivery nurse. There was nothing too taboo for the dinner table (poor Dad). I wasn't surprised when my period showed up at age 12. I WAS home alone but I knew what was up and where the pads were. I did have to call my mom to ask about what to take for my really bad cramps.

[smock]

I was embarrassed that by 6th grade all my friends had their periods and I didn't yet. I got my first period at 13, and felt like I was super lame. In fact, I remember my friends laughing and teasing me, how weird! Like getting your period is super awesome or something?

[panicked]

I was the last person in my group to start. It sucked at the time. I wanted it so badly. I spent most of the time after that trying to make it go away. Mirena FTW!

[cuddlyevil]

It hit me in the 6th grade, about a year-ish after I hit the mosquito bite stage. I was "meh" about my period, but I was totally paranoid about my boobs developing--but this was in part to my wearing a training bra and a boy making fun of me after he noticed the straps showing. I blame him for why they sort of point in weird directions LOL.

[margarita]

My breasts started growing when I was about nine, and a lot of boys teased me about it. One of them punched me in the breasts at recess.
I was very embarrassed and self-conscious about it.

I got my period when I was about 12, I think. I heard some of my peers talk about what theirs was like, so I wasn't really looking forward to it. They mainly talked about the cramps they were getting (a few of them had to sometimes stay home from school, because the cramps were so severe.) I was also a really squeamish kid, so I was dreading it.
Actually getting my period wasn't as bad as I thought it would be though. I remember that my dad wasn't home at the time (which I felt glad about, because I had friends who had to tell their dad when they got theirs.) I told my mom, and she went and got me pads.

[Wrath0fKuus]

I really dreaded, like it would keep me up at night, getting my period, and I'm not sure why.

[Muddled]

I got my period at the lake. I was pissed. Pissed. My mom stood outside the bathroom door and tried to talk me through my first tampon. It was not awesome.

The boob thing was embarrassing. One of the first days I wore a bra, I guess my shirt was a little see through (they didn't sell nude training bras, did they?), so I was totally teased for it. I ended up taking it off during lunch.

[Deleted]

I got mine in 7th grade, and never said a word about it to anyone. I just went in bathroom and took care of business. I never really had breasts until I got pregnant. You know what they say about the grass always being greener? its true~
Now that I am fat, I still have big boobs, but since my surgery no more periods! woohoo

[tiramisu]

I read books when I was in early middle school (4th, 5th, 6th grades) that I picked up on my own, so I had some idea what to expect. I learned a lot about the risk of sex including that you could get pregnant even the first time, which probably led to ne being pretty cautious.

I think I started my period when I was 12 or 13, so pretty late compared to my friends. I think by then I no longer feared it, but didn't particularly look forward to it.

All my friends developed breasts before I did. Hell, I still barely have breasts. But my freshman year of high school is definitely when my ass began to develop. I was embarrassed for a long time about being flat-chested.

[bowies]

I was a late bloomer (with the size of my boobs, who woulda thunk it?). I was one of the last to get a training bra and one of the last to start her period (at least with any frequency - it first appeared at 13 but then took a hiatus until I was 14). I was acutely aware that I wasn't included in this, uh, sisterhood, but never shared it with anyone. I just didn't want to be an outsider. I carried an emergency pad with me starting at age 12 after witnessing the unexpected arrival of friends' periods while at school.

Luckily, I was pretty well informed on what was going on with my body thanks to a special combination of YM, friends with older siblings, and my parents' patented armchair talks. I'm pretty sure my dad excused himself during the "your body is flowering" discussion though.

[captainmel]

I went to the school event thing in 5th grade. They gave us a bag with pads and tampons. My period started in the middle of a 12 hour road trip to the lake house. I was kind of excited but kind of dreading it because I had already heard about it from other friends.

I honestly don't remember too much about my boobs. When I was in 4th grade my mom took me to the doctor because I was getting really hard button like things under my nipple area and they were sore. The doctor said I was getting boobs and I got so excited! Then they took a really long time to show up.

[partiallysunny]

I got boobs in 5th grade and my period in 6th.

Honesty, I didn't really pay much attention. I didn't notice I had boobs until my mom took me to get a bra. Then I thought it was just practice, lol. Then I caught a boy staring at my chest in on 6th grade picture day. I was a tom boy and I was wearing a dress for picture day. I was mortified on so many levels.

My period was an inconvenience. My mom and I never had "the talk", but they did a thing in grade school. When it came, I knew what to do and took care of it. My stomach hurt like hell, but I went on with my day.

My mom find my bloody underwear weeks later and made a huge deal about it. She was pissed I didn't tell her. I guess I took away a "moment".

That's pretty much all I remember about either of those topics. I read the book after I had started my period, so I don't remember it having a huge impact on my life. I did enjoy the book though. I loved Judy Bloom growing up.

[neonpink]

I remember not looking forward to it. We had a class 5th grade all about it. I felt prepared but not really excited about it. I remember in middle school my best friend got boobs first and all the boys liked her. She seriously looked 20ish when were that young. I looked like a freakin box. I felt so ugly. It took me a while to catch up and grow into myself.

I do remember the summer of 5th grade laying on a hammock and noticing I had one armpit hair and thinking omg what is this! This is horrible.

[starrieskies]

All my mom told me was "someday you might find a little spot of blood in your underwear. that's your period." I was woefully unprepared and mortified when I got my first period while out of town with a younger friend... It was awful.