I am an international boarding student. It is hard because I am used to always having my family right beside me when I have a problem, but now I am all by myself, thousands of kilometers away from my parents. There’s not a chance to get support directly, right in that moment.

It is especially hard when my body is changing every day. There are some things happening I have never experienced before. For example, I haven’t been on my period for a long time. First, I thought it was normal because when you are a teenage girl, your period is not very regular. It had been over one month and I was just trying to ignore it. I was saying to myself, “Okay, it is fine, it will come soon.” But then the anxiety started. I have never had sexual relations before, so I can’t be pregnant.

First, I talked with my mom, because I wasn’t very comfortable talking these kind of issues with my dad. My mom talked with my dad and they both said I should wait. After two months, I was very nervous and decided to talk with school nurse. She said it is totally normal and I need to wait for a while, because anxiety can affect your period too. I waited and it was not still coming. I talked with the nurse again. She said there was one more person who was suffering from some disorder, and we could go to the hospital together and get some blood tests and an ultrasound done. This made me even more nervous because I didn’t want anyone to know about it, especially my friends. But there was nothing I could do.

The night before we went to the hospital, I couldn’t sleep. I was thinking, “What if something is wrong with me?” The next day, I learned who the other girl going to the hospital was. She was one of my good friends! It felt so weird that we had never talked about this and that I was so embarrassed and afraid that other person would find out my problem. Every girl can have this kind of situation, so it should be normal for us to talk about it, right?

We had the blood tests and ultrasounds done. After one week, our results came to our school nurse. Luckily, neither of us had a problem. I felt so relieved knowing there are some people who have the same problems as I do. After a couple of weeks, I had my period and now it is in order. My advice to you is don’t be afraid to talk to someone; it is totally normal. Health is the most important thing. Get help if you think you need it.