Everything's Trash, But It's Okay

by Phoebe Robinson

But for real, who are these people who have swag in their twenties? Or in their teens? I’m talking about teens like the singer Monica. She was young as hell when she sang about not messing with you romantically, spiritually, or emotionally while on her period in “Don’t Take It Personal (Just One of Dem Days)” over a fire beat that had grown-ass women and men bumping it in their cars. Not only that, but It. Was. Her. Debut. Song. That’s right: Monica Denise Arnold was out there in those streets from the beginning, standing in her truth in the Always Infinity with Wings aisle. And the pièce de résistance? She was only fourteen when she did all of this. When I was fourteen and had my period, I’d quickly and not so discreetly wrap a zip-up Eddie Bauer fleece around my waist after bleeding through my pants at school, and when anyone would ask me why I did that, I’d just say, “DON’T WORRY ABOUT IT!”