I just turned 18 and because of that I had to switch to a new doctor. During the first meeting, she asked me about my sexual encounters and I told her that I had had intercourse once in grade nine. Now I'm scheduled to have a pap smear in a couple weeks. Any advice for preparing myself, both physically and mentally?

Girl, I’m sorry, I’ve never had a pap smear so I’m not sure what to tell you :(

I highly recommend LiveJournal’s VaginaPagina community for questions like these - the people there are very nice, understanding, and sex-positive. There are also some posts about paps on Reddit’s TwoXChromosomes community: here, here, and here.