At a young age, before most boys even hit puberty, girls start going through menstruation. That means that in elementary school, little girls are getting their periods for the first time, living through the public humiliation of bleeding through their pants and walking around with a giant pad between their legs.

As we get older, it gets worse, and our attitudes and PMS and behaviors change. We've lived with our periods for most of our lives and to think that someone might have a say about our periods just baffles me.

Why should my cramps and bloating affect you?

Why can't I be excused from a day at the office because I can't stand up straight or walk?

Why should you be so concerned with my period?

How often have we heard men mock women for their periods?

If a woman is in a "bitchy" mood or snaps at someone, there's always a man around to pipe up and ask, "oh, is it your period?"

Wrong move, buddy.

For four to eight days, we suffer, often in silence. We moan and cry and curse the skies for our pains, yet we attend our classes and slump to work, wishing we could be sitting in a bathtub with a heating pad and a plate full of our favorite foods.

Then 28 days later, we go through the horrible pains all over again.

It's terrible, sitting in silent agony, feeling like we're getting punched in the gut repeatedly, holding back our howls of pain, being forced to sit through lectures or meetings, all the while our mind is consumed with the pain. We don't get time off for our periods, we aren't excused early for our "lady problems."

We're told to get over it because "life doesn't care about our period."

But what about all those boys at school? Remember the first time a boy found out you had your period, you were mocked or ridiculed. Then when you got older, at work, when you couldn't sit comfortably at your desk because your back hurt so bad, and your boss yelled at you for not completing your given task.

The first time a boy saw your pad or tampon in your bookbag and you were so embarrassed, but why?

Why should any woman be embarrassed about having her period?

There is nothing to be ashamed of, at all. Menstruation is natural. It's something all women go through and understand that it's a part of life. It doesn't mean we aren't allowed to complain about how bad our periods can be, but we can all relate to it.

So again I say, why should my period affect anyone else?