Sometimes I don't hate having HIV. Clutch the pearls
The human immunodeficiency virus is life altering, scary and confusing. And yet, I can't honestly say I hate it all the time.
A lot of times—a lot—it's the bane of my existence. There are times I think that if HIV had a physical body, I'd punch it in the damn esophagus. Every now and then, though, I look around at all the things HIV has brought to me and think, Okay, life, I see what you did there. There are valuable, sometimes painful lessons I have learned living with HIV. Lessons about adulting, even though I was a full-grown adult when I acquired it. Lessons on expressing and regulating emotions. I've learned that to navigate the emotional tidal waves that come with a diagnosis is a journey, and I still haven't reached the end of it. Indications are I never will, and I believe that's what they call continued growth. I have also developed mentally and feel somehow more full and complete because of this HIV. How? Who would have thought? Continue reading...
