December 1st is World AIDS Day.  While I should be happy that the world acknowledges the day, I am a bit disappointed.  My disappointment comes from the fact that World AIDS Day is just that - one day.  Only one day!  I live with this disease every day! I sometimes get frustrated that HIV/AIDS is allotted one day, while there seems to be an entire month dedicated to breast cancer awareness.  Every October, as I walk through the grocery store aisles, there appears to be a product on every shelf in pink packaging, signifying that proceeds will be donated to breast cancer research.  Why isn’t there something like that for HIV/AIDS?  I want to walk down the grocery store aisles and see products in red packaging signifying that proceeds will be donated to HIV/AIDS research. I can’t help but feel that the stigma behind HIV/AIDS is the reason that there is not more of an outpouring of support.  It’s easier to turn a blind eye and believe that you aren’t at risk, nor are the ones you love.   I, personally, never believed it could happen to me.  I didn’t use IV drugs.  I was not sexually promiscuous.   I thought I was somewhat immune to HIV/AIDS.  But I was wrong, very wrong.  So while I will wear red in honor of the day and pay a visit to Starbucks to buy a Product Red coffee, I will not likely do much else.  Simply because, I, like so many others, am guilty of allowing the stigma to dictate the level of my contribution.  I hope that as the years move forward, so will the stigma and the judgement.