When I was little I loved the color pink. I was so small for my age I still wore toddler sizes in first grade. I liked Dora the Explorer and Hannah Montana (Miley Cyrus). I wanted to wear dresses all...
First, I'm going to start by telling you the story of a young woman who had no strength, no self-confidence and no dignity. The story of this young woman is my own and it's a story I've only ever...
It's been a year since I sang with Joyful Noise, not for want of trying to get to rehearsals or lack of commitment to the choir, just life getting in the way.
HIV has opened me up to so many people, places, prejudices, and misconceptions while completely shutting me off from the rest of the world. HIV had me convinced that no one would love or care about me. I would always be stuck in poverty, lack, doubt and hatred. I was a victim of self-induced stigma.
"Why do you make such a publicity stunt of yourself?", chided one person. "Why can't you just be happy, shut up and enjoy your marital bliss? After all you have got a loving home and a loving family...
I know so many of us have many ideas and feelings about stigma or just the word itself....perhaps I am naive because I have never really experienced it firsthand. I want to believe it's because of my positive attitude and outlook and a feeling of confidence that nothing anyone says would hurt me.
I have written this over and over again. I was going to write about the things that disappointed me while at AIDSWATCH 2015 but I couldn't. I have no desire to put people on blast. It would not...
If you are hurting let it be known. If you don't know, say it so that you can learn. If you need somebody tell them!! If you need to cry, do it. Confronting and admitting your pain is not a sign of...
Mina K. is a teenage girl who lives in the United States. Mina is a new blogger and a youth advocate. She writes about living with HIV, school, being adopted, friends, family, and things going on in...
Jewel A. Walker-Terrell is a 40 year old Jackson, MS native living with HIV. Jewel is a state retiree from the MS Department of Employment Security. A 1990 graduate of Provine High School, she...