Jess E. Jelsma's work has appeared in xoJane, The Normal School, Indiana Review, and various other publications. You can find her online at jessejelsma.com.
My first gynecologist tells me that my vagina is on the smaller side of the normal range. I use this as a justification for why, at eighteen, I still can’t get a tampon in more than a quarter of an inch past my hymen.