I advocate for cure research with an open mind and open heart... Personally, I am free from the burden of needing a cure. It's a "nice-to-have", not a "need-to-have".
I choose to show up for love with open eyes, a full heart and a commitment to myself first.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Being part of A Girl Like Me isn't just about telling my story. It's about showing someone else what's possible when we finally decide to stop hiding... We are exactly what someone else needs to see.
Art such as Adriana's couture art contributes to creating safe spaces in our HIV community where dignity is restored and fear of stigma is replaced with connection.