National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day - A Personal Note

Today's post is written by Ciara R., who is an intern here at the Dining Out for Life offices. Ciara was thoughtful enough to share her personal story with us - since the struggle to battle HIV/AIDS is for many of us...very personal!

Aware of the importance and avid about setting an example for my peers, I got tested yesterday on National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. Not only did I feel a sense of relief, but power as well when I received the results. Because HIV can lay dormant for years without me contracting it, there’s no telling what the results are going to be when I go in every six months. I felt powerful because I did not have to worry about knowing. Relieved because it was negative but even if it were positive, I’d have a better chance of combating the disease and living a longer more impactful life.

Thanks to my mother’s true passion for service, I have been aware of HIV/AIDS since an early age. I can remember attending conferences and meetings along with her as a little girl. One event that sticks out in my mind is an event at a local church. I remember a woman speaking about living with HIV. At the time, I knew it was a deadly disease that is transmitted through sex, but I had never seen anyone who I knew had it. I’d always imagine someone with the virus to be very frail, pale, and unable to move around on their own. To my surprise, she was full of energy, vibrant and healthy.

During her talk, she mentioned that she never went on a rampant search to find out who she contracted it from. She believed that it would be useless to get angry and a waste of her energy to search and interrogate her partners. Rather than focusing

on how it happened, she focuses her energy on what she is going to do now. She wants to keep learning about HIV, be an impact in the movement to combat it, and live a healthy lifestyle.

I tell her story to point out a few things. Young people, you cannot determine if someone is HIV positive by their look, background, personality, or sexual history. Too often, do I come in contact with people my age (22)who choose to engage in risky sexual behavior based off of assumptions they’ve made about their partner (I’ve even been guilty of it). The only true determinant is their status, but because most people don’t carry rapid HIV tests in their back pockets, the most efficient way to protect yourself is to use condoms. You can get more information on what condoms are made of, their varieties and how to properly use them here. Another important point she made was to let go of the emotional stress of not knowing how you got it. There are some cases in which it is feasible to find out and it may save other’s lives; if not, we should focus on the things that we can control. Lastly, it is probable to live healthy with HIV. From reading about the issue, I have discovered that there is a population that would rather not get tested because of the stigma associated with the virus. It is possible to live a normal lifestyle with the virus. It is better to know, so that you can get treatment and live healthy to sustain your life. Not convinced?Look at these real stories of young people living with HIV.

All in all, that one day impacted my life and view of HIV/AIDS. I thought about that woman yesterday when I got tested. I recognize that it can happen to me and I understand the importance of knowing my status. To find the nearest rapid testing location near you, go to hivtest.org