When sitting down to read, I never want to read all the fake nonsense. What I search for is reality. This can still be super exciting and an entertaining read, but I want honesty. Now don’t get me wrong, there are a 1000 amazing things about being a girl. But there are plenty of girl problems. People think it’s bad manners to complain, yet here I am to complain. We can’t always show our feminine power.
Don’t panic this isn’t going to be a painfully negative read, but it will showcase the somewhat sucky reality behind growing up a teenage girl. I am only 21, but the ages of 15-18, I can say with conviction, were not my favourite memories.
Sure, there were some silver linings, but I had plenty of girl problems, from bullying, the stress of growing boobs, and getting periods. I wouldn’t say I liked periods. Yet I also hated it when everyone had one but me! Being a teenage girl was not easy, but you are not alone.
Painful periods
I think periods are the worst of a girl’s problems.They crush all the feminine power I have. Periods were at the front of my mind from about the age of 14. All my friends seemed to be developing a lot faster than me. Jealousy is the only word to describe how I felt. For some reason my not getting my period felt like the worst thing ever. My dramatic self saw this as being younger and more childish than everyone around me. Then it happened. Wow, I thought, I am now a woman. WRONG. Why on earth did I ever want this?
What I thought made me older and sophisticated is a hell I am stuck with for a long time now. Why was I not warned about how angry and agitated I would feel the week before my period? Those around me need to walk on eggshells as one wrong word or move would make me cry or shout. My emotions are out of my control and a huge mess.
Cramps have become my top enemy. How ladies can continue their day-to-day life with this pain I do not know. If I could crawl into a dark and cosy room stocked with chocolate and plenty of orange juice for the week of my period I would. Yet I still have to work and go to school, all with a smile on my face.
Boob crazy
I feel like I was a late bloomer. Everyone else had boobs. I was as flat as a pancake. This never really bothered me or came to my attention until someone pointed it out. Then it was all I could think about. At 15 I would have fit better in the boys changing rooms, with my flat body and stick like legs. This sucked growing up as a teenage girl. I felt unattractive, when at that age I wanted the cute boys to like me.
When changing in PE everyone liked to make comments about who had bigger boobs, and I felt isolated and different. Everyone would judge the expensive bra and who didn’t need one. Looking back this is such a silly thing. But I just wanted to feel sexy and adult-like. I would hide in the toilets to get changed so no one could see me. My sports bra from peacocks my mum had kindly took me shopping for was pointless, after all it was not holding anything in place.
Friendship fallouts
When I was younger I was always rather eccentric, weirder I guess you could say. My friends and I would sit in the drama room at lunch, making up dances and plays rather than in the canteen like everyone else. As we got older and grew out of that we still stuck in a small group, separate from everyone else. I grew really attached to these people. My group of girls, and a couple boys were my safe space where I felt comfortable. I did not really talk to anyone else in my year-group, which is probably why I find meeting new people so much harder now.
Teenage girls can be mean. Not all teenage girls, but bullying is something that unfortunately happens a lot, especially in secondary school. The little comments about boobs and body image in the changing rooms felt like nothing in comparison to the judgemental looks from the popular group. I remember feeling like I could not win, my peers wanted to me to be thin but not too thin, have boobs but not be fat.
One time during year 10 in a science lesson, on the other side of the room sat a group of 3 or 4 girls who for some reason did not like me. I idolised this group of girls, they had the popular nike socks, long straight blonde hair and expensive handbags. They were the idea of feminine perfection to me. I had curly hair that was usually a mess, odd socks and a cheaper handbag from a shop closer to my home. I felt odd. That group of girls made so many passing comments about me, that I grew used to it, but I felt hated and embarrassed all the same. Although I did not know anything about what they were like as people, all I wanted was to be liked by them.
Silver linings for every cloud
So there you have it. All the reasons hell is a teenage girl, and why growing up as one sucks. But at the same time, being a girl is the best thing ever. Girls are powerful icons. I love being a girl even in the worst times. I love supporting and standing up for other girls. Being feminine and girly, buying all cute outfits accessories brings me so much joy. My piece of advice to all girls reading this is despite all the rubbish, ignore it as it does get better. If you are feeling down or struggling with things I mentioned, reach out to people. Go to your person or your safe space and remember your inner feminine power! Be your own It Girl.
