Did you ever stop to think that just maybe, your actions are affecting me? I know you say all the time "what I do is my business, I'm not hurting anyone", but the fact of the matter is that yes, you are hurting me! I sit and watch you day in/day out, and listen to your plight. You tell me how fatigue you are, how you are discharging, and don't have any appetite, but in the same breathe you are also saying "it's nobody business that you are infected with AIDS"…REALLY!
Here is a REALITY check my friend…You matter to me, and you matter to the world. I know you are scared right now, and feel all alone, but I'm here! I just want you to understand that you are not alone because every 9 1/2 minutes someone in the United States is infected with HIV. There are organizations, and social media chats that are designed to inform, educate, and support you in all of your concerns dealing with HIV/AIDS. Please give them a try, because you don't have to do this alone! I'm willing to go with you to your doctor appointments, and assist you when you need to be reminded that it's medication time.
The bottom line is this…until you realize that HIV/AIDS is running rampant in our communities because no one wants to talk about it like you. We will never get a hold on this epidemic because no one wants to get tested, get care, talk about it out in the open, or take their medication on time and consistently. It takes a village to raise a child, and I believe it takes a village to help people who are living with the disease to help erase the stigma.
So the next time you want to lay down unprotected and get involved with someone …knowingly that you are positive. I need you to remember it is my business. When you decide to get high, and drink refusing to take your meds…it is my business. While sitting in your funk and falling into the black hole of depression it is my business. Feeling all alone, almost wanting to take your life it is my business.
You are my business for a number of reasons, and the number 1 reason is because "I LOVE YOU".
About Sonya: Mrs. Sonya Mallard, better known as "Ms Sonya Live", possesses a desire to push one into their Destiny, and has an unabashed preference for the controversial. Ms. Sonya skillfully combines talk, news worthy events, interviews and motivation for people without missing a beat. The weekly show, Ms. Sonya Live is on 94.7 FM every Friday @5pm for two hours filled with Real Talk, Real Issues, with a Dose of Reality from the heart. It features audience interaction and interviews with experts in the HIV field. She is on a mission as a HIV Activist for the past 20 years and presently an HIV Educator/Tester with Project Response in Melbourne, Florida. She has been Affected and not Infected with HIV, losing her best friend, Lynette Hart, to the disease. Her greatest fulfillment comes when her students, clients, and audience members take action and make meaningful changes that transform their health, relationships, work, and spiritual lives. She is known for giving out condoms FREE and stationing condom bowls throughout drug infested neighborhoods, beauty stores, and night clubs to help decrease the disease.
