My first Period

I got my period when I was 9, I went to the bathroom and didn't know what was going on, I thought I was dying. I called my mother into the bathroom and showed her and she threw a pad and said put that on and left! Wouldn't talk about it, tell me what was happening to me, how often I needed to wear a pad or anything. So I went thru a humilating year of thinking it was something bad that I had done and was being punished and would lie to get out of PE when it was that time of month didn't know how often to change or that it was important to keep myself clean, then one day the nurse called me into the office because I was known as the smelly kid during that time of the month and I told her what was going on she was wonderful she explained everything to me and I will always be grateful for that