My Story, Our Story
To be a bold, fierce, full of strength fire.
2010
It started from my personal story.
Grew up in a chaotic Chinese family.
An indifference father, a birth mother I wasn’t allowed to see for nearly ten years, and a controlling stepmother.
In that chaos, I became invisible. I felt like a discarded object. I shrank during arguments. I constantly tried to please others just to survive.
At 17, lying awake one night, a thought lit up my mind:
“I’ll ultimately grow up one day,
I’ll be strong enough to be free, and fight for the things I want”
2020
I started asking why.
Why should girls always be obedient? Why should we stay silent?
Bringing these questions, I moved to Beijing for college.
Everything shifted in my sophomore year when I saw a “free pad box” in a campus bathroom on social media.
My blood boiled. I realized
fighting back could be practical.
2021
I drafted a proposal that night.
Printed it out and went from office to office.
Rejection. Pushback. Warnings.
But I didn’t stop.
For two months, I fought.
Even if it meant getting expelled.
But I also found allies.
Other girls stood up with me.
2023
The first box was installed in a bathroom stall.
Right after, we got an anonymous complaint.
But more support came.
Pad companies donated.
Our WeChat group hit 500 people. We have to make spinoff groups.
The project won a Social Innovation Award.
Investors reached out.
A professor offered to co-develop affordable sanitary pads with us.
But I was about to graduate.
I packed everything up, with pride and regret,
and came to the US to continue my studies.
2024
In the summer of 2024, BIOMILQ, a women’s health biotech company, offered me an internship.
I turned down offers from bigger names.
It was one of the best choices I’ve ever made.
In the lab, I saw the numbers:
97% of women health issue is underfunded.
I worked with brilliant female scientists, interns, and mentors.
Their silent commitment, their shared mission—
reminded me of the girls I used to run through dorm halls with, carrying pad boxes.
A mission I had buried came back to life.
2025
That summer reignited the spark.
In January 2025, I launched Her Body Knows.
When the first educational post got hundreds of comments like:
“I never knew this. This should’ve never been hidden.”
When other women empowerment influencers reached out to connect—
I felt something deeper than any award.
Something real.
This is not the happy middle of a fairy tale.
Some pad boxes may be collecting dust.
Girls in mountain villages may have moved on.
The lab research still needs years to finish.
But one thing is certain:
We are turning Why should we? into We can.
The story is still unfolding.
Stay tuned.
See what I, and we, can do next.