Telling the story of HIV means something to me…
Being diagnosed with HIV actually saved my life and it’s continuing to save my life, because it’s helping me take care of my whole body…
For a lot of people, taking their medication is a constant trauma and reminder. For me, it’s not. Bam, I’m ready to take charge. From the day I went to the doctor on October 7th, I’ve taken my pill every single day since then.
I had no knowledge of anything. I was like, “Do I have to tell people this?“ Then it was, “What is my grandmother going to think of me and how would that change my family relationship?“ I was preparing myself to be on my own.
“That started as being my driving force. It was like, “OK, let me get on top of my $%#* because when they get rid of me, I want to be able to take care of myself because it’s going to happen.”
Knowledge, time, talking to people, counselors, and getting more information, transitioned me to saying, “I just want to succeed and thrive.”
HIV affects every inch of your body. If you want to take care of your HIV, you have to take care of your mental health, diet….HIV forces you to address everything because it attacks everything and it tries to take away everything.
Snap Out Stigma 