Just in case you aren't informed or you didn't listen to your Biology lectures in high school, testosterone is a prominent hormone that keeps the male breed functioning. It gets them excited like a dog, it lets them wail their tails when they see a Victoria's Secret model, and it's responsible for the development of healthy sperms fishing around to fertilize your egg, ladies.

Here's the thing. I've got a confession to make. Last month, I visited a gynecologist for the first time, and had the first Pap Smear in my life. Why? Because the last time I had my menstrual cycle was about 4 months ago (from January 2011). I can also tell you something even more outrageous: I only had my period twice last year.

Sounds weird enough? Well, after doing my journalistic research online, I now found out why.

It's not only men who produces progesterone. We do too; just like many other animals. Only that men produces them 10 times more than we do, and that we are more sensitive to the hormone.

There's also an explanation behind why I tend to be very clumsy, careless, ignorant, impatient, afraid of commitment, and like to talk about sex. It's the natural gene I get from birth, that I have a high testosterone as a woman. And probably the fact that I love to play violent pranks with my two older brothers. And that my mother keeps telling me, "You're a girl, not a boy." And that I love to wear shorts and jeans better than skirts. And after all the testosteroney days, I would cry helplessly because I can get very sensitive if emotionally hurt. In other words, imbalanced hormones.

Which is part of a make-up for my personality, with neuroticism high and conscientiousness low out of psychology's Big Five.

In a nutshell, our hormones play a big role in making each of us and our personalities unique.

Anyway, my high levels of testosterones is relatively responsible for my imbalanced menstrual cycle. I mean, they never come at the expected dates each month ever since I hit my puberty. And ever since I changed my physical body into that of an athlete, i.e. body fat percentage 12% last year, I practically skipped one to three periods in some 16~18 months. (Yes, boys are adrenaline and endorphins junkie, aren't they? So am I.)

Then last year, due to personal life reasons, I got into episodes of mild depression and high levels of stress, i.e. cortisol, and gained back some body fat, which is responsible for producing the female hormone oestrogen. I gained so much more body fat just in one year, which is why my progesterone levels were greatly reduced. And I wasn't born this way. I wasn't myself. The progesterone and oestrogen are two main components during a woman's ovulation period, which will determine whether her uterine lining will shed or provide support if an egg is fertilized by a lucky sperm.

Luckily, I have no need to fear more dangerous clinical abnormalities if I'm sexually active for the last 12 months (That's fancy speak for innocence. I mean flower. I mean virginity. Oh my, can't believe I'm saying this out loud. But hey, there's a good reason). My doctor gave me Medroxyprogesterone. Now, progesterone is known as the "pregnancy hormone", and it is released during the body's production of testosterones. My shocking reduction in the levels of testosterones, really, was given a kick in 7 continuous days, popping the pills every night, so that the progesterones can synthesize to line my uterus to prepare for pregnancy, which then I didn't accept any sperm fishing about, which then breaks down into drops of blood, and there I had the period, FINALLY.

Right now I'm still getting readjusted to my usual self. Last year taught me well, even if I decided to be a journalist, using sensationalism or not, I still have to be myself and fulfill the need to satisfy my natural curiosity and to express my self, which is part of the self-actualization needs according to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.

And I do feel that my testosterones are pumping up again, because my muscle mass is increasing again and my body fat, at least around my belly and waist, are almost nonexistent again. My bones feel strong again, and my hips and legs feel like a cheetah again. Oh, and part of having a good short hair-do is feeling androgynous 24/7. Which is beneficial for both sexes, because then you can relate more, and you communicate better, and you'll get great relationships.

My doctor also said that if my period's not coming again this month, I've got to get a blood test. Which is very troublesome. I workout often to keep my endorphins pumping and satisfy my testosterones. Currently that's the only way to meet my physiological needs. But the symptoms followed by the missing periods last year... I'm still struggling to get through them. Things like:

• IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), according to my gynecologist after my Pap Smear test
• insulin resistance (which correlates to IBS)
• balance of circadian rhythm, stabilize my biological clock
• reduced libido (which I'm now maintaining by watching Ok Taecyeon, Jay Chou, and moving into my new apartment that has lots of hot guys)

Meaning, I'm watching what I eat, when I eat, when I exercise, how I exercise, why I love these guys, when I'll meet a lucky sperm, and waiting for my bloodstream to stabilize... Because if it doesn't, woman, you can lead yourselves to infertility!

And, woman, we are not so different than the guys after all, you know? It's good to be androgynous, because hunger, thirst, and sex are the three most basic needs of every reproductive biological organism. We're animals after all, just that we're sapiens. We have the limbic brain working together with our reptilian brain. Now, before I go off topic, let me just close off with why you should keep your hormones in balance by fulfilling your basic needs: They keep you healthy, so don't be shy!


Read more: WebMD: Normal Testosterone and Oestrogen Levels in Women