A Girl Like Me

In my previous blogs I spoke a lot about what life was like being diagnosed with HIV. I spoke of the shame and guilt I felt along with the shame people placed upon me because of this disease. I hated my fate, I hated the man and I hated me. I stopped living, dreaming and hoping. It wasn't until I began to deal with the issues that impacted the life that led me to HIV that I began to live again.

It's been a while since my last writing. I have been consumed with new horizons and just living my life. One of the highlights was being able to attend the PWN's SPEAK UP conference.

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of attending the PWN SPEAK UP! National Summit for Women Living with HIV with more than 200 other women. The days were filled with workshops, activities, empowerment sessions, and hope. Although much has changed in the past 30 years, and there are now women specific policies and guidelines, there is still more work to be done. Advocating for women's rights is a continued process.

I was able to attend the United States Conference on AIDS (USCA) in San Diego, held October 2-5, 2014. This conference had over 2,000 attendees, many of whom worked in the HIV community. The sessions...

So after coming home from the empowering PWN-USA and the Positive Living programs, I was feeling so empowered and then life happened. My son is 13 and has had behavioral problems since I adopted him...

I took a seminar on the language we use when discussing HIV. It really made me stop and think about the words I use when describing myself and HIV. From the time I was diagnosed I have always hated to...

Two days before I was to leave I became very anxious because I knew I would be around a lot of women who knew much more about activism than I did. Even though I had quit smoking I bought three packs...

School's in for the winter! So at last I have access to the computer and no pending jobs to prevent me writing. I've made the lunches, ironed the uniforms, checked books, bags, etc., and waved my...

Jesus knows that I've gone through, made, and been forced to go through some changes. I don't mind change because life is full of them. It is overwhelming sometimes. The instability of life dictates most change.

In December of 2009...I was cold, hungry, living in my car. Rescued by AIDS Care Service on December 21, 2009, they safely housed me in one of their transitional apartments. I quickly realized I wasn...