CONTACTStaffCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2024 Pride Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
COMMENTARY: My story is simple, not unlike many others. I am a gay male who contracted HIV through unprotected sex. I was careful, but not careful enough. Responsible, but learned quickly this virus does not discriminate.
I'm a 28 year old, responsible, honest, and smart individual. I am someone's son, someone's friend. I am a Vice President at Deutsch Advertising, a demanding boss and loyal employee. I'm romantic but cynical and at the core a loving person in search of all the things that make us happy. I also happen to be HIV positive.
I was diagnosed over two years ago. A reality I had of course thought about as a gay male, but never imagined. I do not recall a day since that I have not thought "what is life like without this burden."
What followed has been a personal, sometimes painful, and challenging journey to discover how to live with HIV. I'm still discovering. The fortunate part is modern medicine allows us to do just that, live with a better quality of life and longer than those before us. We owe that medical treatment to everyone.
My progression has been quick. I was placed on medication last June. A step I thought would be far off. A pill I will take everyday for the rest of my life. A commitment to a medicine, a subtle reminder each night.
The images of the weak and sick are so very real and my journey pales in comparison. But the face of HIV spans the globe, from villages in Africa to apartments in New York City. To the poor with no jobs, to a those that have built successful careers.
My diagnosis gave me perspective, a sense of mortality, urgency and focus. It has challenged my mental capacity beyond expectation.
Those challenges have impacted relationships and at times stripped me of all hope. There is a constant caution that blankets every future intimate moment. Anxiety that is unexplainable. Shame that gets the best of even the most confident. And lingering in the distance, that conversation with someone you are starting to care about and all that follows those simple words, "I have HIV."
So today is the next step in my journey. I share this publicly not out of pride, not in shame, but because its real.
Why Facebook? Why not. A forum made for conversation I encourage my family, my friends, my colleges to use my story on this day to start a conversation - at work, at home, with friends, just talk.
Your response or lack there of won't change my situation. But the conversation you have today, tomorrow or in years to come just might change someone else's future. That's a power no responsible person should ignore.
Do what feels right. My profile public, permission granted...use me, my name, my picture, my status, to speak up.
Comment...ask questions...show support...show disdain...make assumptions...challenge your perspective...have tolerance...and you might just find out more about yourself than you ever expected.
Want more breaking equality news & trending entertainment stories?
Check out our NEW 24/7 streaming service: the Advocate Channel!
Download the Advocate Channel App for your mobile phone and your favorite streaming device!
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
Here Are Our 2024 Election Predictions. Will They Come True?
November 07 2023 1:46 PM
17 Celebs Who Are Out & Proud of Their Trans & Nonbinary Kids
November 30 2023 10:41 AM
Here Are the 15 Most LGBTQ-Friendly Cities in the U.S.
November 01 2023 5:09 PM
Which State Is the Queerest? These Are the States With the Most LGBTQ+ People
December 11 2023 10:00 AM
These 27 Senate Hearing Room Gay Sex Jokes Are Truly Exquisite
December 17 2023 3:33 PM
10 Cheeky and Homoerotic Photos From Bob Mizer's Nude Films
November 18 2023 10:05 PM
30 Steamy Photos of Folsom Street Fair 2023 Debauchery
October 15 2023 11:06 PM
42 Flaming Hot Photos From 2024's Australian Firefighters Calendar
November 10 2023 6:08 PM
These Are the 5 States With the Smallest Percentage of LGBTQ+ People
December 13 2023 9:15 AM
60 Burly Pics from Bearrison Street Fair 2022
October 08 2023 8:30 PM
Watch Now: Advocate Channel
Trending Stories & News
For more news and videos on advocatechannel.com, click here.
Trending Stories & News
For more news and videos on advocatechannel.com, click here.
Latest Stories
Prince William's aversion to spectacle created one — and might spawn a King Harry
March 22 2024 6:24 PM
Outrage after Oklahoma prosecutor declines charges in Nex Benedict bullying death
March 22 2024 5:21 PM
George Santos leaves Republican Party, will run for House seat as independent
March 22 2024 4:07 PM
Catherine, Princess of Wales, announces she has cancer
March 22 2024 2:57 PM
Pride
Yahoo FeedProhibition Wellness & revolutionizing self-care for all
March 22 2024 1:19 PM
Tennessee bill would permit anti-LGBTQ+ foster and adoptee parents
March 22 2024 11:54 AM
Plus
Yahoo Feed8 dating tips for gay men from a gay psychotherapist
March 22 2024 11:51 AM
Trans woman assailed during Kanye West's Rolling Loud set beats back 'bullies' (exclusive)
March 22 2024 11:34 AM
Out Congress members outraged as anti-LGBTQ+ bills advance
March 21 2024 6:59 PM
RuPaul shades 'masculine white gay men' who project 'internalized homophobia'
March 21 2024 5:43 PM
Alabama forces universities to implement trans bathroom ban while outlawing DEI
March 21 2024 3:55 PM
'Cruel' Nebraska senator investigated after using colleague's name in a rape scene
March 21 2024 3:51 PM
Police arrest Russian nightclub employees over drag show
March 21 2024 2:24 PM