In high school, I discovered the most effective way to get boys to leave a conversation; all I had to say was one word, seven letters. Their eyes would widen and then they would flee instantaneously the second I uttered the word "tampon." It was like magic, their brains couldn't handle the implications of the sacred t-word. As much as that came in handy, especially when I just wanted to gossip with my girl friends, there was, and still are, plenty of downsides to this fear the general public has regarding the topic of tampons and periods.

I remember strategizing my outfits for that one week each month for optimal security of the tampon transfer from my backpack to the bathroom. I was on some 007 level, I'd pretend to reach into my bag for a pencil and slide a tampon up my sleeve or in my pocket ensuring no one saw. The last thing I wanted was for anyone, especially guys, to know I was on my period. I mean it's a perfectly normal bodily function, but it will be the end of the world if we acknowledge it!

Take Kiran Gandhi for example. She ran the London Marathon while on her period and made the decision to run the whole race without a tampon in. What?! How unheard of, why would she want others to know she was on her period? She told Cosmopolitan,

"It's more about owning your own comfort level and being confident in your own skin to do what you need to do to accomplish something. Really making it about yourself instead of about other people...I just wanted it to not matter. But it does matter in our society, right? If it didn't, everyone would be bleeding freely all the time, but instead we have to cover it up."

Tremendous respect is owed to Gandhi for her actions, I usually just lay in bed curled up with a dark chocolate bar from Trader Joe's when I have my period. But more importantly there shouldn't even be such a big response from her actions in the first place. It is totally normal for runners to pee during races and that is always shrugged off as no big deal, just an average bodily function, everyone does it. That is nothing like periods, though, I mean it's just women who get it so technically that's not everyone, right?

The more important point here is that women should feel more comfortable about their bodies. If you want to run with a tampon in do it. If you want to run without a tampon, do it. If you don't want to run at all, then don't.

All jokes aside, we all know periods suck so at the very least we should each be able to handle the situation that makes us personally the happiest. So stop caring about what anyone else thinks and start carrying those tampons around the halls loud and proud because periods aren't something that will ever go away so we may as well make the best of them.