Yeah, it sucks. But trust me it just gets worse. But here are some tips to make it not-so-worse.
1. Yes, pads are fine, but it's kind of gross to think about sometimes in my opinion. Girls, don't be afraid of tampons, in the future, they will be lifesavers. For example, if any of you play sports or swim or any real activity that is not excusable by 'I'm on my period' then these are amazing. I see all these books on girls starting their period and they haven't even tried a tampon and they're going on about how it's just a wad of cotton shoved into you, and I kinda get a little ticked. Whatever you have heard about that, forget it. I can barely feel tampons when they're in and it gets so much easier to put in after the first time. (NOTE: I wrote this in seventh grade and I was not smart at all lol. Whichever works for you is fine. I know plenty of girls in high school who don't use tampons because they don't like them or they don't work for them. I don't want to make anyone feel bad.)
2. If you already have a regular cycle, start taking midol or whatever the heck you use, right when you're about to start. It will really help with the feels-like-tiny-ninjas-stabbing-me-repeatedly kind of cramps.
3. Don't be afraid to ask your friends for a pad/tampon. They'll understand and you won't have to ask the weird teacher who has to raid the teachers' supplies. (I have had personal experience with this.)
4. Yes it hurts. Yes you will bleed. Yes it will stink like heck. Yes you will want to stab anyone who looks at you funny. But hey, at least you're not pregnant!
That's all for this chapter but I will continue this for you guys! Hope it was informational!