finding balance

Being a Black woman and wearing the badge of honor of being strong is exhausting to say the least.

What was the most impactful were the stories told by each of us living with HIV. It would not have been nearly as successful without our voices.

So, if you remember my last blog, I shared my pregnancy news and my plans to breastfeed my baby. Well, I breastfeed, it didn't last long though, but let's get into this short story.

I must admit in certain areas in my life I finally realized I was being a people pleaser. I never looked at it like that until I saw how it has affected me.

No tienes que pasar por tener VIH o SIDA solo. Incluso si no los tienes, puedes crear tu propia familia extendida.

You don't have to go through having HIV or AIDS alone. Even if you don't have them, create your own extended family.

Despite all of the stigma and misinformation surrounding HIV, I managed to find myself again.

El estigma es más mortífero que la enfermedad en sí, y el conductor principal del estigma del VIH, en mi opinión, es la iglesia.

Stigma is deadlier than the disease itself, and the top driver of HIV stigma, in my opinion, is the church.

Changing our mindset to use the winter months as literal rest and mental hibernation gives us the emotional and physical strength to emerge as the HIV leaders ... we are in the New Spring.