Misha is the founder of openlypositive, a movement to empower, educate & uplift others to strive and stop the stigma of HIV.
My Purora welcomed Misha to share their HIV fears.
My HIV fear was wanting to be accepted for who I Am.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
I wanted to feel loved and wanted. I feared not being worthy of having a life where I can be my authentic self.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
I feared rejection from a lover, a job, a friend, and even potential friends and allies.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
I feared for my family and my mom; what would people think and say.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
I feared people would treat me differently if they knew the real me.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
I feared these things because society had played a significant role in molding how I should think and view myself as an HIV + Black woman.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
According to society, how dare I want to break free from the negative connotations associated with the 80’s and 90’s HIV epidemic way of thinking.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
According to society, I should accept any toxic relationships I have and be glad that someone still wants to be with me because I have been labeled with: The plague, The Monster, The Ting( island people know this), and any other street code name that was given to describe someone who is HIV +.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
According to society, in 2016, I should not be working at a front desk in a hotel at a Hilton Garden Inn, in Manhattan NY.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
According to society, HIV-positive and receiving Public Assistance should not have the luxury of living in decent, comfortable homes or apartments. They are less than so; therefore, they should live in deplorable housing systems, where the slumlord fixes nothing and you are forced into moving or going into the shelter system that’s also deplorable.
I am living proof that living your life in fear, either on your own or from outside sources, serves no one.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
You have to be willing to create your narrative by any means necessary because your peace, your sense of self-worth, and your self-love depend on it.
My Purora thanks Misha for sharing their HIV fears, do you want to share yours?
