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Gender and Age: |
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Male, 35
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Manhattan, Kansas |
| Country of Residence: |
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 United States |
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English
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 About Me |
When I was 20 - 25 years old, I lived a very reckless sexual life, and spent several of those years just assuming that I was HIV+. I got very sick once, and when I went to the doctor, I told him that I believed I was HIV+, but had never been tested or anything. A week later, he called me and told me that I was not infected with HIV. I was stunned. I immediately changed my behavior. I spent the next 3 years being celibate, taking time to get to know myself. I continued getting HIV tests every 6 months, just to be sure that I was negative.
I moved back home to Kansas to be near my family. While living here, I decided that I was ready to try the dating world. I met a guy online and we went to dinner. A lovely date turned into a fun evening, we didn't do anything overly risky. We fooled around, and then things got weird. He suddenly stopped calling. I moved on and a month later started dating the man that would become my partner. Two weeks into our relationship we got tested together and my test was returned positive.
I knew that I had to have been infected by the only person I had been with, since I hadn't had sex with my new boyfriend yet. I confronted him, not out of anger, but to let him know that he had infected me. I wanted him to be aware of the impact he was having on other peoples lives. He had already known he was positive. When I asked him why he hadn't told me, he said because I wouldn't have hooked up with him... I was shocked. I had never realized the stigmas that comes along with HIV, mostly because I never used HIV status as a measuring point on whether I would be involved with someone.
From that point on, I made it a point to never hide or be ashamed of my status. I spend a great deal of my time educating my community about HIV, as well as educating HIV+ men and women about protecting themselves and their partners and making good decisions. I marked that turning point in my life by riding in AIDS/Lifecycle 6, where I proudly rode as a Positive Pedlar. I now walk to class wearing my "I'm Positive" shirt that I got from that ride. The number of people that stop me to talk about HIV is staggering. This is a conservative agricultural college, and for many of the students their time here will be their only opportunity to see diversity before returning to their small town rural lives. I strive to make an impact on their lives so that when they return home, they will be more aware of HIV, and how much it really surrounds them and they realize that my face is not the only face of HIV.
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User is Offline.
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| User Joined: August 17, 2008 |
| Last Login: August 17, 2008
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 Active Rank: #115915 |
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