Amanda, 21
What I Want You to Know:
My advocacy for HIV/AIDS awareness is 21 years in the making. I lost my father to AIDS in 1993, when I was six years old.
How HIV/AIDS has affected my life:
It was a significant experience growing up without a father, and making excuses as to how he died, because the stigma is so strong. Eventually I realized that I am my father's legacy and I needed to educate others so that his death wasn't in vain. I began to slowly disclose the truth of how he died to close friends, and the tattoo, of a cross in the middle of my back with an AIDS ribbon and my Dad's birth and death year, was a big step for me. I am so proud when people ask about it. When I got it done, a male my age was getting a cross on his leg. His father said, "You will be able to see it on your wedding day," about my tattoo placement, to which I responded, "Then it will be like my father is walking me down the aisle."
How I contribute to the fight against HIV:
I am involved in many activities on my campus in order to raise awareness. Through the Women's Health Project, I have helped organize events for World AIDS day, as well as my college's own version of the Names Project. I've been wearing my Until There's a Cure bracelet for 7 years now, and I always tell people when and where they can get free testing.
Have I ever been tested for HIV?
I have been tested for HIV three times. I got tested initially because I wanted an overall STI check, and I knew I had to ask for an HIV test separately. I was raped in the fall of 2007, and although my risk seemed minimal, I decided to take anti-retroviral drugs, Combivir and Kaletra, which showed me what HIV-positive people go through everyday. At one point I actually called the hospital because I thought I was dying because the side affects were so harsh, but I knew that taking the drugs was the right thing to do. My father was diagnosed shortly after I was conceived, and I am grateful that my mother and myself were able to escape infection.
