𝕃𝕠𝕦𝕕 𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕣𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕥 𝕕𝕚𝕒𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕤 #𝟜 (includes my speech abt period products)

18th November 2025

Hello lovely humans! I am back!

If you are new here (which you probably are), Hii! I'm Alysa, a highschooler in Australia, and your fellow writer, and this is my lovely page!

If you're not new here, welcome back! let's be excited for our stories shared together!

Like I always say, I can't force you to read or subscribe to my blog, or to give me kudos, but like, if you want to, I don't mind :33

I haven't added to this blog series for over a month. The reason? My very lazy ass was being lazy.

ANYWAY- WE'RE BACK NOW!

so, let's get into it :DD

(note = this one is pretty long TT)

So... we had our English presentations today, and out of the (7 i think?) students who went up, i was the last one for today. ACCORDING TO MY FRIEND AND WHAT IVE HEARD mine was probably the best one so far.

APPERENTLY i sounded confident and managed to present well, so yay to me!

"Oh Alysa, then why were you upset(ish)?"

BECAUSE I WAS SHAKING!

I WAS STANDING THERE

AT THE FRONT

MY POWERPOINT ON THE TV 

AND CUE CARDS IN MY HAND

DOING MY SPEECH

WHILE MY WHOLE BODY WAS SHAKING VIOLENTLY!

the good part is that most people didn't even notice me shaking because my speech was that good (hehe)

But when i went to sit back down my arms were still shaking so my friends noticed

I think some people might've noticed my arms shaking while i was at the front but idk.

Oh! I nearly forgot to add! My topic was "Why period products shouldn't be so expensive"!

...

WHY WAS I THE ONLY ONE WHO DIDNT CHOOSE A TOPIC THAT WAS ON THE LIST

WE WERE ALLOWED TO CHOOSE EITHER ONE OF THE THREE ON THIS LIST OR CHOOSE OUR OWN AS LONG AS WE TELL A TEACHER

SO

WHY

WAS

I

THE

ONLY

ONE

WHO

DID

SOMETHING

ELSE!!!

anyway- apparently 2 girls in the class (the ones in the "popular" group but aren't that known known themselves) were nodding along to everything i said and even said something along the lines of "She's got a point!"

and apparently at one point even the guys were interested

idk though, at this point i'm just typing what my friend told me.

While i was up there i was too scared to make any eye contact with anyone but the teacher & 1-2 of my friends so yeah.

I SWEAR MY VOICE WAS SHAKING!

But i sounded "confident" according to my friend so its ok.

I SAID SOME PARTS OF THE SPEECH WRONG AND I'M GENUINELY UPSET

BUT

NO ONE EVEN NOTICED

THEY THOUGHT IT WAS RIGHT

so yay...?

anyway- here's my whole speech incase you were curious (I ended up changing a few parts while I was actually up there because I was scared af and stuttering and couldn't remember everything but couldn't look down because I was scared I wouldn't be able to look back up- BUT ITS OK!)

Over 500 million people around the world lack access to menstrual products. Its not only unfair, but it’s a crisis! Period products aren’t any luxury, it’s a necessity, so why aren’t we treating it that way? Alright class, brace yourselves because we’re going to be talking about something that half of us deal with and the other have pretends doesn’t exist. Periods, and why they shouldn’t be so expensive! Imagine if toilet paper costed $20 a roll. Ridiculous right? Well, it’s kind of what its like with period products. Periods happen every month to millions of people so why are the products so expensive? It makes no sense. I’ll be talking about not only why they’re an essential need, but also how the price affects people, and their wallets, and the health problems that come with not having access.

First off, periods aren’t a choice, and the products needed are a basic necessity. Each month you spend at least $20 to stock up on Advil, tampons, and pads, just so you can continue your life while still experiencing cramps, brain fog, irritation, and discomfort in general. Did I mention that menstruators spend up to $6000 on menstrual supplies in their lifetime- you could buy a pinball machine with that much money! Menstrual products are just as essential as food and shelter, denying access to these things is denying equality. Why is toilet paper free in public restrooms while pads & tampons are locked up in coin operated metal boxes, and that’s if they’re even offered at all. In some countries, period products are still taxed as non-essential while razors and condoms are tax free, which makes no sense but hey, what would I know? I’m not part of the government. Now, you might be thinking “Oh, 20 dollars a month isn’t that bad, you can easily earn more” which brings me to my second point.

Period products might not be “expensive” expensive, but they’re so overpriced that some women can’t even afford them every month- and that’s ignoring the fact that some placed don’t even HAVE access to them! 64% of women have trouble affording menstrual products & 21% were unable to even afford them every month. In just the US that’s ¼ of teens and 1/3 of adults. No one should have to choose between a pad and food. Imagine being a teen and bleeding through your clothes at school because your family couldn’t afford tampons. That’s probably actually happened to some girls- many in fact. Lack of access to menstrual products can make mental, emotional, and physical issues for women, including anxiety, distress, and safety issues- and don’t forget about side affects you already get during periods which you now have to survive alongside all that. Let’s all be real for a second, Money doesn’t grow on trees and bills get higher and higher as time goes on- making It even worse. “Oh, but toilet paper isn’t free, and you were comparing pads and tampons to them earlier-” Yeah but not only is toilet paper cheaper then menstrual products, but it can be used, FOR FREE in public restrooms. And before you come at me saying “Oh, but you could make your own supplies, or use alternatives” or “Why don’t you just bleed freely” Please just listen a big longer.

Menstrual products are vital for a woman’s health. Picture someone using the same bloody pad for 12 hours because they have no other choice, now imagine the health consequences. Products help manage menstrual hygiene, prevent infections, and reduces odour, allowing woman to stay clean and comfortable. Improvised menstrual materials like paper or rags increases the risk of reproductive issues or urinary tract infections. If we don’t charge extra for toilet paper or bandages, then why should pads or tampons be any different? Period blood is the only blood that doesn’t spill from violence and yet for some reason it’s the one that grosses people out the most.

Period products are essential, overpriced, and skipping them is not only gross but also risky! Change starts with awareness, and that can be anything, like how out of all the topics I could’ve choose from, I chose this. Speak up and demand change, because something mundane like periods shouldn’t come with a large price tag. Thank you.

"Imagine being a teen and bleeding through your clothes at school because your family couldn’t afford tampons. That’s probably actually happened to some girls- many in fact" 

I stuttered a lot

and ended up saying something like this:

"Imagine being a teen at school and getting your period but you can't even get a pad because of the high prices and now have to bleed freely"

...

BRO </3

AND THE CRAZY PART-

NO ONE NOTICED...

THEY THOUGHT IT WAS CORRECT

they AGREED 

so... success...??

ANYWAY- Thank you so much for reading. this blog was really long so if you actually read it, kudos to you!

Like always, I'm lowkey worried about the impression this might give you but (also like always) I worry too much :P

As I always say, I don't mind if you just ignore this blog and continue your day. Like I said at the start, I'm not going to force anyone to comment or give kudo but honestly, respect to y'all for reading my yap.

Here's a cookie as a thank you 🍪 AND! BECAUSE THIS ONE WAS SO LONG, heres some icecream too 🍨🍦

bye bye! :3