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...
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.
My parents are from the Caribbean. I was born and brought up in London, UK. I found the love of my life when I was 49 and I am engaged to be married. I have been living with HIV for over 17 years.
The Well Project interviews Samantha Rose Montemayor, Community Advisory Board member and A Girl Like Me blogger, for our "Spotlight: Women Making a Difference" series.
This past March marked 8 years since my diagnosis. This year I had the idea to try and get some positive and powerful women to walk with me. On Sunday, May 21st, I invite any of you ladies who live in the New York area or are close by and want to travel, to do the NYC AIDS Walk with me.
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.
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 already done that and what I did not know is that I would let that anger build for almost two decades before I accepted it.
I've learned a sex conversation before sexual intimacy is so much more than my HIV status. If a man isn't open to STD testing and condoms in the initial phase of dating, they are in denial about sexual intimacy responsibility and not boyfriend material.