finding balance

💔Stigma can be louder than the virus 🕊 Healing is not linear 🧠 Mental health matters 💉 Science saves lives 💪🏽 I am not a statistic

Last night, the Amsterdam Dinner Event once again proved its power as the Netherlands' largest annual fundraiser for innovative, life-saving HIV initiatives.

Chiiiiillleee... You ever get so caught up in life that HIV doesn't even have a space in your thoughts?

If someone can't look you in the eye while you're holding a mop, they don't deserve your attention when you're holding a mic, a title, or your head high.

Too often, I was told what I should say and how I should say it—by people working in HIV who do not have HIV.

It's not what others tell you about yourself; it's what you tell yourself that is important. You mold who you think and believe you are.

Nineteen years ago, I never imagined that I would one day have the strength to speak openly about my status in a leading HIV magazine. But here I am.

When diagnosed, a person confides in me and trusts my guidance and love. I kill stigma one day, one person at a time. Doors are opening and I feel alive.

To my fellow survivors, advocates, and community members: keep speaking out. Keep demanding better.

I share this journey with you all because I feel safety in our sisterhood. I have a safe place to live. My outreach is thriving. I owe all this to a new perspective on me.