BIG GIRLS DON'T CRY.

When I was a teenager, I was the girl who struggled to make friends. I wanted to be part of the cool gang of popular girls, the ones who all the boys gravitated towards, the ones who were allowed to stay out partying when they were 14 and had the coolest clothes - but I just didn’t fit.

I gave myself a complex about not being cool enough and let that ego of mine damage some pretty lovely friendships.

I was bullied - because at school you can’t win, can you? I put myself out there so the popular kids knew who I was, with hopes I’d blend right in, but instead I made myself stick out like a sore thumb - and descended on a slippery, downward slope of emotional abuse and self depreciation. It’s safe to say high school wasn’t my favourite time, and I often wish I could go back and do it all differently.

 

Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

And so today I’m writing an open letter - to all those young girls like me. To take some ownership of the girl I wish I could’ve been back then. To talk about a topic young Megan would’ve been too scared to shout about.

I have a huge interest in beauty - from my hair care to makeup and manicures to massages, I love it all. And then there’s another area we all tend to steer away from…

Feminine Hygiene.

Because looking after your vagina is for losers, right?

Is it heck.

I can’t help but feel the nastiness that can go on when we’re younger leads us to become so much more embarrassed and private about this kind of subject. Even now, at 27 years old, friends will see FemFresh in my toiletry bag and snigger - but the girl I am now turns around and says ‘have you actually tried it? Because it’s bloody good’.

I’ve used FemFresh for years and absolutely swear by it. It’s not a product for a ‘problem area’ it’s just there to keep you clean, like any body wash would. The reason I reach for it is because my vagina is pretty important to me (and rightly so) - and making sure she’s healthy by maintaining a balance in pH levels is my main priority. Like, you wouldn’t wash your hair with fairy liquid, so why is this any different?

I know that 14 year old Megan wouldn’t have been able to take this to gym class, she’d have been laughed out of school, and that’s what I want to change.

I’m learning that I, we, can be who we wan't to be. And that that's way more fun than trying to blend in with a crowd you’d most certainly be better off without.

I want us all to be brave enough to be the girl who rises above negativity and stands up for herself. Our lady parts, in any context, shouldn’t be something we’re scared of.

Don’t be the girl who makes others feel smaller because of your own insecurities.

Be the girl who helps make a change. Be the girl who makes being a woman something to be celebrated.

This post is in collaboration with FemFresh.

Photography by Alexandra Cameron.