Inconvenient. Period.

Ask just about any woman what one of the most "inconvenient" elements in her life is and she will likely say having a period.

As we get older, we learn how to manage having a period. We learn to schedule life events to hopefully not coincide with this inconvenience. First dates. Weddings. Trips to the beach. Those kinds of things.

It is not just that there can be pain and bloating, which can make the idea of putting on a bathing suit - not an ideal for most of us at the best of times - just sound truly awful. Particularly in the beginning of adolescence and sometimes randomly when we are older, you just don't feel "cute" those first few days.

It's also the other physical manefestations. Tampons and pads make it harder to be discrete about what is happening with your body. Men can give us a hard time about how often we need to use the ladies room, and a period just adds to that. To avoid leaks, we just need to have access to these things. And it's inconvenient to have to broadcast to others about this somewhat embarassing topic.

Birth control pills not only help prevent unwanted pregnancy, they also add an element of convenience to the otherwise inconvenience of having a period. When you're on the pill, you usually know exactly when you will have your period. Which makes planning for a wedding or a trip to the beach much easier. Even if there are others involved and you can't dictate which week might be better or worse for you, you can at least plan. And taking the pill for a long time also reduces the duration and intensity of your period. Which also can be a nice thing.

Not having your period, however, can be a scary or wonderful thing. If you are trying to have a child, that first month of not getting a period can be a source of great wonder and speculation. If you are not trying to have a child, not getting your period may be very scary. If you have been having sex, it might mean an planned pregnancy and then lots of decisions from there. If there's no chance of you're being pregnant, then not getting a period can still be scary as it can portend health problems.

When you get older and start hitting menapause, having a period can make you feel like a teenager again. Not from the perspective of still being "young" enough to have a period. But having more trouble knowing when you are going to get one - with no control or foreknowledge of what's coming. And the duration and intensity change too from one month to the next. Or you skip a month or two. And then start again for no apparent reason. Inconvenient.

All in all, periods are not fun. Never pleasant. Even if they can be managed sort of for certain times of your life. But overall inconvenient. Period.