I'm still single and dating has become a nightmare overnight. I used to be comfortable disclosing to my "potentials", but not anymore.
I really do believe that my coworkers are afraid of the fact that I have HIV and do not want to eat any food I bring in.
A month into my marriage I discovered that I was 10 weeks pregnant and HIV positive. My husband of one month tested negative.
As you all know, this isn't a perfect world. I came to realize this better the weeks following my diagnosis.
I'm the person who thought I would kick the bucket from addiction in that crack house, where I lived and died on a daily basis, seven years ago.
When I got pregnant with my youngest, I was the first HIV+ patient to deliver a baby at that hospital. I still had nobody to talk to.
I have been reminded of how short life can be and that we must appreciate each and every day.
I don't know how other girls like me react to stigma and injustices we suffer because of our statuses. I usually beat myself up. Sometimes, depending on the source of the stigma, I'd loathe myself.
My family know me as the Diva, the strongest HIV+ woman they've ever seen. What they don't know is what happens when I switch off the lights and close the door, I suddenly am not so strong anymore.
You know, I love the holidays, I really do. But a part of me dreads them as well.