finding balance

Y'all I'm out here living 2020 in 2023... While y'all was stuck at home, looking cute up top and only wearing ya underwears or jammies under the table I was out EVERYDAY going to work cause Covid what...

So, I don't know if you know That I've been at this social media, advocacy thing for a little minute now. Probably bout, what, like 4 or 5 years or something like that? However long ago it was, I...

Hola. Mi nombre es Alessandra Blásquez. Fui diagnosticada en abril del 2004. A mí no me afectó mucho saber que era positiva porque ya sabía que existía medicamento...

Hello. My name is Alessandra Blásquez. I was diagnosed in April of 2004. I wasn't that worried when I learned I was HIV positive because I knew I could be treated.

It took me a while to realise that the judgment I felt came from within. I understand that I can only take responsibility for how I feel and my emotions.

In this chat I talk to Yvonne about HIV medication and the meaning of wellness. When I first got diagnosed, I had to navigate my way around what wellness actually meant. Once I established a routine...

Since my 2016 diagnosis in Florida, I've always known if I don't disclose my HIV status to a sexual partner I could be criminalized. Essentially it didn't matter because morally I felt that I should tell the person, but at what point do I not get to put myself in a potentially stigmatized or worse situation?

After being diagnosed at 19 years old, I didn't know or understand what HIV was. I just knew it was something I would have to deal with for the rest of my life. What does that mean? What does HIV look like? Am I a label now? These were all the thoughts that ran through my mind.

I started Aunty Lou's Hour to: (a) support people living with HIV who feel lonely; and (b) do what I can to reduce stigma associated with HIV.

HIV empowered me - and now I am free. When I first found out I had HIV - I believed my life was over. I come from a catholic upbringing, and even though I no longer practice, those feelings of guilt and shame still lingered.