It doesn't have to be perfect to be just right. If not art, some hobby or venture that allows you to be in a moment that is not tied to HIV, or responsibility to anyone but yourself.
Red40something's blog
The human immunodeficiency virus is life altering, scary and confusing. And yet, I can't honestly say I hate it all the time.
It is September 25th, 2023. This day marks my 11th year of knowing that I'm living with HIV.
At one point I really thought I wanted a road map for this life with HIV. Like, really, really wanted a road map. I wanted more than just "you're not going to die."
Writers and storytellers are among my favorite types of people. I've always had a thing for books of all kinds. I was the nerdy kid in elementary and junior high school buying ALL the books from the Scholastic Book Fairs. Literally armloads.
I got taken advantage of recently in a major hurtful way and I can't seem to let it go. I already know my inability to do so is about the manifestation of (other) things that are out of control in my life. Still fucking stings though. I'm a Scorpio. We are known for grudges, lol. Without going into a lot of detail, my mom passed away recently and the funeral home (whom you want to be able to trust) took advantage of our grief and forced us into a position of having to come up with considerable funds the day before my mother's funeral, while the entire time we were working with them (over a...
The Association of Nurses in AIDS Care (ANAC) conference was held in Tampa, FL in November of this year. The theme for 2022 was EQUITY, COMPASSION & SCIENCE - KEYS TO ENDING THE EPIDEMIC. Tampa was a controversial place to hold this meeting because of the political climate.
The 24th biennial International AIDS Conference took place from the end of July into the beginning of August this year, and I was happy to have been able to attend.
You don't have to. You. Don't. Have. To. No tienes. Tu n'as pas. I can't repeat it enough. You do not have to take everything that comes to you. Not everything you find is yours to pick up and not everything you pick up is yours to carry. You don't have to let it in your spirit. The mess. The emotional stress. The guilt trips. The pain. The baggage and trauma other people lay on you because they are tired of carrying it. It's cool to be a listening ear. To let people lean on you. It's what we're taught right? To be a "good" person and friend. You don't have to and it doesn't make you a...
Have you ever heard a doctor, advocate or friend say "you probably know someone living with HIV and you just don't know it"? People hiding in plain sight. I've said that to people. It's a way to get them to consider HIV in a way they never have before. To humanize the scary HIV acronym and make them think about the nuances of what it must be like to live with it. The 2022 CROI conference did that for me in an unexpected way this year. Humanized science when science isn't exactly popular for having human qualities. Not to mention the challenge of yet another virtual conference platform...