Sharing my stories and giving courage to others like me who can relate to some of my struggles and victories is a way I can give back to a community that has literally saved my life.
"You have HIV. HIV3 to be exact." That's what they said—HIV3. I didn't even know what that meant... No one explained it. No one softened it.
Being stigmatized with the closest friends and relatives... the people you really loved and trusted. It was really hard on me... But now I stand up straight to tell the world that I'm strong... Stigma can't kill my future.
They told me that my medication would kill me, not the virus. And I know for a fact they were wrong... When I came to the United States in 2001, I started treatment. Four weeks later, I was undetectable.
I left—not because I wanted to, but because I had to. I left to live.
HIV criminalization is an amalgamation of a lot of things. It is ignorance overlaid with fear and underpinned by the need to exert power over the same people who are being feared.
To anyone who feels stuck, lost, or overlooked: Keep going. Your breakthrough might just be one bold step away.
Dating while living with HIV can be empowering, joyful, and deeply fulfilling—but it also comes with moments of vulnerability, especially when it comes to disclosure.
It all seemed like talk – until it happened... Words could never do this journey justice. But I will try.
Check out The Well Project's A Girl Like Me LIVE!, an interactive, livestreaming series created to advance health and wellness education among women living with and vulnerable to HIV.