A Girl Like Me (AGLM), a program of The Well Project, is a blog where women ( cis and trans The Well Project serves women across the gender spectrum. (More about gender identity)) can share their experiences and promote understanding of HIV. Millions of women around the globe are living with HIV, yet many feel they are alone in their disease and isolated in their day-to-day experiences. The goals of AGLM are to help normalize HIV; and to create a safe space for women living with HIV from around the world to speak out and share their experiences – with each other, and with those seeking a support community.
Interested in blogging with A Girl Like Me? Fill out an application here!
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Hi, my name is Sharonda Lynn. I've been HIV positive for 22 years and counting. I was first diagnosed at the age of 19 years old. I found out I was HIV positive a month before graduating high school with a one year old daughter. I would never have thought...
The day my mother announced that she had been diagnosed with AIDS, my entire world shifted. Through tear-filled eyes, she explained that she contracted the illness from her recently deceased ex-fiance and wasn't sure how much longer she had to live. I instantly wailed as if she was already gone....
Let me start by warning you that this will be a pretty long blog; we've got three weeks of misery to cover.
It's been said to me this past weekend, "You got your karma when you got HIV, and now you have to live with the consequences by taking a pill each day to make sure your son has at least one of his parents." Yeah, can you believe how nasty some...
My name is Ana de Oliveira and I'm already in my 40's. I'm a Portuguese/Cape Verdean woman living in the UK for over 15 years. I am a mother of four beautiful children (I will tell you more about my motherhood, there are some interesting facts...).
I'm going to go out on a limb and assume something. Don't get mad if I'm overstepping or overstating. I know it doesn't apply to everyone, but it's common enough. It's just a little something that I know to be true for me, and over time have found to be...
I filled out a questionnaire today. It was about wise words that I would offer to someone newly diagnosed with HIV. It's interesting to me to see how my perspective has changed over the years and how it's stayed the same.
As an African artist living with HIV in the Netherlands for more than 15 years now, I continue to experience a lot of stigma and discrimination based on me being open about my HIV and my beautiful colour. I realized that for many people with a migrant background stigma is...
I got caught up in believing I didn't deserve respect because of my past and dark parts of my identity that I tuck away and try to forget about until it's all I remember. But now I'm learning that self-acceptance is a vital part in determining who you share...
When I was about 4 or 5 years old, some nights I used to be awakened by a mysterious swaying of the curtains in my room. Immediately, I would start seeing shapes that scared me a lot: deformed faces, threatening animals. My fear was such that...
When I was diagnosed with HIV almost 17 years ago I dove head first into activism. I was angry and I needed something to do with that anger or I would have turned it onto myself. What I didn't realize is that I had...
March 29, 2023
I wanted to send him the link to "Being Positive:Ted Talk." I had the impulse to reach out to an ex-boyfriend after a 7-month breakup. I wanted to share feelings I wasn't able to articulate yet had experienced. Feelings of HIV stigma that I...
I attended the International Workshop on HIV and Women 2023 virtually on February 17-18. I love attending conferences in person, there's nothing like the experience and energy of those in-person meetings, but virtual conferences have their pros as well, like attending the conference in your pajamas, which I did...
It is always a weird feeling when presenting at a conference or workshop. On one hand, I'm excited because of the opportunity to be among people who are passionate like me; and on the other hand, I have that good ole...
My lovely people, today I want to share my opinion on PrEP (Pre Exposure Prophylaxis). I know that PrEP is a pill that prevents a person from getting HIV infection. PrEP is scientifically proven to be effective for women.
Nina Martinez, running-to-40, has been living with HIV since she was six weeks old. After pursuing graduate studies in epidemiology at Emory University, she served as a public health analyst at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nina was an active clinical research volunteer at the National Institutes...
Hi! My name's Whitney Stott. I'm a recovering addict and trauma survivor from Richmond, VA. After I got my HIV diagnosis in 2021, I spiraled further into the grips of addiction. The deep inward hatred towards myself and the low self-worth I felt was the perfect environment for my...
