Periods are inevitable. It's a sad fact that girls everywhere have to face. Whether you call it a visit from Aunt Flow, riding the Crimson Wave, or just your time of the month, it's still painful, uncomfortable, messy, and inconvenient. The only potential upside to your period is that you can use it as an excuse for almost anything. Here are five examples.

1. Getting out of things

Periods are great for getting you out of things. Maybe you were invited to an event you didn't want to go to, so you blamed your period for not being able to come. Maybe you got out of running laps in gym class. Whatever undesirable thing you were able to avoid, you can thank your period for that.

2. Using tons of toilet paper

There's no denying that your period causes you to exponentially increase your toilet paper consumption for about a week. If you share a bathroom with someone, chances are they'll notice. Not that you have to explain yourself, but if you want to, it's fairly simple. Just say you're on your period. If they're a girl, they'll probably understand. If they're a guy, well, no uterus, no opinion.

3. Walking slow

I once read that no one will know you're on your period unless you tell them. That's a lie! Sometimes the way we walk gives it away! Sometimes we have to walk slow or like a penguin in order to avoid a disaster. It's easy to get mad at slow walkers, but just remember that they may be suffering from their period.

4. Being in a bad mood

Ah, PMS. It gives us cravings, cramps, and mood swings. It's also a perfect excuse for acting like a monster. PMS can be dangerous. It's best for everyone if you just give us what we want. Also, if you want to assume we're PMSing, keep it to yourself. Saying something will only make things worse for you.

5. Eating anything and everything

Just like pregnancy cravings, period cravings are very real. For one week, we can get away with eating as much as we want of whatever we want. Pizza, donuts, popcorn, chocolate, etc. Junk food makes us feel just a little better about the fact that we are bleeding 24/7. If you see us chowing down, don't judge us. Just offer to bring us more food.

There are plenty of things you can get away with when you're on your period. You don't even have to tell people it's your time of the month. Just give them that look—you know the one—and they'll leave you alone. Periods suck. I know. But try to take advantage of the little things they give back to us.