I'm sitting here thinking about an upcoming conference that I'll be attending in the next few weeks, thinking about my schedule, my expectations and anticipations, but mostly about the people I'm excited to see and others I'm eager to meet. I love these conferences, these gatherings of community. Community is a wonderful thing, it gives us a sense of belonging and security in commonality. We're comforted in knowing that we're not alone and have strength and support in numbers with common goals, and familial-like bonds form. These are important issues to us as human beings so we seek community and will endeavor to sustain and preserve them; from the area we call home to the people we share commonalities with, we need each other.
I fully intend to learn from the workshops and enjoy the overall environment, but I really look forward to just being part of this community of advocates, to mingle with like-minded people who share the common goal of ending the HIV epidemic, to learn from them, draw strength from them and take what I gain from them home with me to share with another community. This is why we come together, our love of community and our desire to improve upon it, adding one more voice to the existing chorus for change to improve the lives of others like us. I can't wait to meet the amazing people doing wonderful things for their communities and gleaning from them all the knowledge and information that I can, I anticipate the electric environment of sharing a space with so many who share goals and ideas and gaining strength and inspiration from their fellowship. This will be my first USCA (United States Conference on AIDS) and I ponder with anticipation all I imagine to gain from the experience. I'll be sharing as much as I can put into words for those unable to attend, so stay tuned!
