The purpose of my blog is to aware people of the challenges many young people face today from a medical aspect. I plan to inform my audience about diseases/disorders that affect young people around their age and motivate them to support at least one of the causes in my blog. I hope to help change my audience’s view on people with debilitating diseases and give them some insight to what their disease is, how it affects their life and ways they can help. I want to encourage others to stand up for change. I want this blog to cause people to stop and think before voicing an opinion on someone with Downs Syndrome or AIDS. I do not want my audience’s opinion on people who have a medical condition to come from the media or from what they hear from peers. I want my audience to have the motivation to stand up for people who cannot stand up for themselves.
I want my audience to be young adults interested in changing views on medical afflictions that affect people their age; high school to college age students. The reason for me wanting to communicate this to others sparks from my experiences in high school. I have been a part of many causes that changed my view on disorders and diseases, for instance, Spread the Word to End the Word to prevent people from using retarded in a derogatory manner, special kids rodeo, The American Red Cross, and St. Jude as well as others. I also grew up with a girl in my class who suffered from Muscle Dystrophy. Growing up with her I never really felt like she was any different than me other than her life was much harder and everyone in my class respected her compared other classes. One of the major factors for my interest in this blog is that on May 14th my cousin was born with Downs Syndrome. She is beautiful and everyone in my family is very supportive, but I do not want her to grow up in a world that looks down on her and gives her a label she cannot lose. If I can change one person’s mind on at least one of the diseases/ disorders I talk about in my blog I will feel accomplished.
It is supposed to be a happy and joyful day. It is supposed to be a celebration. It is supposed to be full of tears of joy and smiles. Instead this day is sad, scary, and filled with tears of sadness. This is something that no one in my family saw coming and no one is prepared for. All we know is something is wrong, she is not breathing on her own, and she is in danger. My family walks to the nursery to get a glimpse of what is happening and from a distance all you see is new parents holding their new bundle of joy wrapped in a pink blanket. At a closer look you see the tears rolling down their faces, the tubes and wires hanging from the blanket, and then the nurse brings her to the window. One look and all of our fears stared us in the face. She has Down’s syndrome. My baby cousin Sydney was born in May and now is almost six months old. The day she was born was not like we all pictured, but she is our miracle and she is the whole reason for my blog. Since this is my last blog I do not want to bring up a new disorder and tell you the symptoms, causes, and reasons to think before you laugh. I want you to know my real life story that has motivated me to hopefully change your view on people with medical afflictions. My very first blog touched on this experience, but now I want you to know the whole story, because someday you might see Sydney or someone like her and I want you to remember this story.
The day Sydney was born everything went as planned. Her mother Mandy had a normal delivery and no one knew anything was wrong until the next day. The swelling went down in her face and she had to be under an oxygen hood because her lungs were not completely developed. Then the doctors kept looking at her hands and toes, her mouth, and her heart. While we were watching we thought it just was routine, but then Carl, her father, said she was going downhill. Sydney was too weak to eat so she has to have a feeding tube, and she never cried. The doctor walked to where we were all standing and pulled Carl aside. His knees hit the floor and tears ran down his face. The doctor explained Sydney has Down’s syndrome and needed to be in the hospital for a few weeks. Her toes were set far apart, the roof of her mouth is higher than normal, her fingers are shorter than normal, and she has one crease on the palm of her hand which is all signs of Down’s syndrome. My family was devastated. Sydney is Carl and Mandy’s first baby and now they are faced with the struggles she will have the rest of her life.
After we got over the initial shock and then we were worried about her health. Since many babies with Down’s syndrome have heart problems and intestinal problems. They also have a higher risk of leukemia. Sydney had many tests done and everything came back normal. This was a huge sigh of relief and my whole family’s mood changed. We have accepted that she is different, but there is not one thing wrong with that. She spent about a month in the hospital and then came home to open arms. Except there was one person who could not accept the situation, her father; Carl was afraid from the beginning of Mandy’s pregnancy that something would go wrong and it did. He did not want to hold her, look at her, or accept she is his baby with Down’s syndrome. Sounds terrible right? Yes. But I want you to understand something. He was terrified. He knew firsthand what it is like to take of someone with special needs. When he was 17 he took care of a man that was mentally retarded, Bud. He was a janitor at Carl’s high school and when kids made fun of him Carl stood up for Bud. Bud lived with Carl until he passed away. Carl dealt with the daily struggles of feeding him, helping him when he messed his pants, and loved him through it all. You would think with his experience with Bud he would be the best parent for Sydney, but he knows what her life will be like and her struggles unlike the rest of us.
Today Carl has realized God gave him Sydney for a reason and he is an amazing father. Sydney goes to physical therapy every week to work with her muscles because Down syndrome kids have a hard time developing their muscles. She is now sitting up, rolling over, and happier than ever. She is right on track for her age and has all the love in the world. She still never cries, if she is hungry she lets out one little yell and that is it. She smiles and laughs all the time. The amazing thing is the more time you spend with her you stop seeing that she has Down’s syndrome. To my family she is Sydney, our joyful gift that was unexpected, but we would not have her any other way.
We will not know how severe her mental disabilities will be until she is older, but we hope for the best. I know that when she goes to school kids will make fun of her, I know when she walks in public people will stare, I know when she is my age she will have a different life than I have, but I also know that she will be beautiful, happy, and always have people to love her. What I hope for is that she will have people in her life that stand up for her, treat her like she is no different than anyone else, and accept her for who she is. What I really wish for is not what I can do for her, but what you can. I hope that if you ever met Sydney or someone like her you respect her and remember her story. I have talked to you for weeks about disorders that people make fun of people for having and that your laughs and jokes are HATE. I hope that my blog has changed your opinion about people with disorders and you will now stop the HATE and spread the word of RESPECT. I want Sydney to grow up in a world where she can be confident, and you can make that happen. If you stand up for people like her and tell your friends to and even teach your kids someday to treat everyone equal whether a person has Tourette’s, is obese, anorexic, mentally ill, or even purple they deserve love and respect. You can make a difference,” Be the change you wish to see in the world.”-Gandhi
After watching this video, let me ask you a question. Did you laugh? If your answer is yes then let me ask you some more questions. Do you know what Tourette’s Syndrome is? How it affects peoples’ lives? Or most important do you know that it is not funny? Well after I give you some information and a new perspective on this disease I would like you to watch this video again and tell me if you laugh.
What is Tourette’s Syndrome?It is a neurological disorder that affects all people, different races, gender, and age, and it is incurable. It is characterized by involuntary and unusual movements and sounds called tics. Symptoms usually start to appear between the ages of seven and ten, and males are at a much high risk of getting Turrets than females. Some people out grow this disorder, but many do not and Turrets usually becomes progressively worse in the teen years.
Now for the Symptoms, the symptoms of Turrets can be either simple or complex tics. These repetitive movements and sounds can be either motor or vocal. Simple motor tics include: blinking, jerking the head, eye darting, flexing the fingers, sticking the tongue out, and shrugging the shoulders. Complex motor tics are much more extreme and sometimes use the entire body. These include smelling things, touching the nose, extreme arm movements, hopping, touching other people, and can even include inappropriate motions (flipping the Bird). Some tics can be extreme enough to cause physical injury .Simple vocal tics are things like yelling, clearing the throat, barking, and hiccupping. Complex vocal tics include repeating words and phrases, echoing others, and cussing. Symptoms of Turrets usually are worse when the person is sick, excited, or nervous, but they usually slow down when the person is engaged in an activity that is calming. Interesting things at many people do not realize is that the tics do not completely go away while the person is sleeping. To many people this sounds like fun, being able to cuss in public and flip people off and blame it on a disorder, but to someone with turrets it is embarrassing to not only them, but their friends and family.
What causes Tourette’s syndrome? Well, no one knows. Some specialists believe it can be inherited or that the environment plays a part, but there is no solid answer to this question. Without a cause of Turrets this also means there is no way to prevent it or cure it, but treatment is available. The most important issue with this disorder is getting educated about it because this will make life much easier for you and the person suffering from it. Here is another video clip that I just want you to watch a little bit of to help you understand the life of a person with turrets.
***** Warning Viewer Discretion is Advised
Now I want you to step into a person with turrets shoes. You wake up in the morning, try to brush your teeth, but that simple job is hard to manage with your tics getting tooth paste all over your face. Walking to school you flip the mail man off and he lectures you about manners and asked what he ever did to you. In the class room you bark and jerk and the other students laugh; your teacher can only take so much until she takes you out of class. Going to the mall after school with your friends your tics become worse, people stare, your friends back away, and then you set into your verbal tics. You cuss out every person who walks by, kids cry, mothers scorn you, men get angry with you, and the old ladies hit you. Now how does that sound? I understand that it is human nature to stare at people who are not considered normal, but all I ask is be educated about this disease and understand that the person with Turrets does not think it is funny. They have no control over their tics, how would you feel if you had no control over your body? When you see someone with this disorder please think before you laugh and stare and encourage others around you to do the same. Tourette’s syndrome does not make life any easier and people’s rude comments, staring, laughing, and making a person with turrets the punch line of a joke is Hate. So let me ask you again, are you still laughing?
Raiding the kitchen for anything you can get your hands on, chips, cookies, cake, donuts, literally everything and anything, you eat way past the normal standard of a snack or a meal, but you are smarter than someone who is overweight, because you know you can eat all of this food and not gain a pound. Once you are done stuffing your face and the kitchen is almost empty, you make your way to the bathroom, you calmly lean towards the toilet, stick your finger down your throat and relieve yourself of all the calories and fat you just ingested. This sounds like the perfect diet right? You can eat anything you want and as much as you want and not gain but lose weight. Nothing wrong with that right? Yes because this behavior is called bulimia and it is a disease than can be life threatening without treatment.
First off, what is Bulimia Nervosa other than this wonderful “diet plan”? Bulimia is a disease that affects a person’s perception of their body image. In their attempts to try and control their weight, but still eat, unlike Anorexia, a person will binge and purge which means they will take in large amounts of food and then make themselves throw up so they do not absorb any of the fat or calories.Binges often occur in private. Once the binge episode ends, the purging begins. This may mean heading to the bathroom to vomit, hitting the treadmill for hours of exercise, or not eating for long periods of time (fasting).The scary thing about this disease is you cannot tell someone has it by looking at them, so they could be suffering from this for years and go untreated. A person suffering from bulimia usually has a normal body type or may even be slightly overweight and they usually stay a constant weight because they are still eating and some of the food is absorbed before they throw it up.
Now for the symptoms, rather than just give you a long boring list I will just point out the major ones you may need to look for in yourself or friends. Other than the obvious over eating and vomiting, some people abuse laxatives to lose the calories from bingeing, over use exercising, go to the bathroom after every meal, have damaged gums and teeth, have abnormal bowel movements, have sores in the throat and mouth, and scars on the knuckles or hands from forced vomiting. The complications from this disease are serious. They range from heart problems such as heart failure, absence of a period in females, digestive problems, damage to the throat and esophagus, tooth decay, and ultimately death. Does this “diet plan” seem so perfect now? Yes, you may have a steady weight, but you will also have rotten or no teeth, a bloated stomach from the misuse of laxatives, and sores in your mouth. And to top it all off this “diet plan” is a road to the grave. If you were to see a picture of a person I just described you would think they do crystal meth, not suffering from a disease.
Who is at risk? Well, Girls and women are more likely to have bulimia than boys and men are. Also, bulimia often begins in late adolescence or early adulthood, so college students are more at risk than young teens. People who lose weight are often reinforced by positive comments from others and by their changing appearance. This may cause some people to take dieting too far, leading to bulimia. Also, not surprisingly athletes, dancers, and models are at higher risk of eating disorders, such as bulimia. Coaches and parents may unwittingly contribute to eating disorders by encouraging young athletes to lose weight.
What I really want you to take from this blog is that bulimia is a disease that is an addiction. This is not something someone can just stop doing; it is a way of life for them. Look for these symptoms in you friends and possibly yourself, because if this goes untreated the results are not only devastating, but deadly. Another issue I want to make clear is that just bingeing and purging every once in a while is still bulimia. Many girls in my high school would do this every so often and brag about it, which completely disgusted me. They believed they were doing nothing wrong and they had complete control, but to their dismay they did not. The bingeing and purging became more frequent and it was not until teachers and parents were involved that they got help. What seems harmless at first can be deadly in the end.
Day 1: 8:00 AM run 2 miles. 9:00 AM take diet pills. 10:00 AM weight in. 11:00 AM eat 1 cup of Special K cereal= 100 calories. 12:00 to 4:00PM work, no food intake. 4:00 to 6:00PM workout. 6:15PM eat 1 cup of lettuce, no dressing=75 calories and 4 celery sticks= 80 calories. 7:00 to 9:00PM Pilates workout. 9:15PM weigh in. 9:30PM bed. Total calories for the day=225 Total fat=0 grams. This is not a schedule for a marathon runner or an Olympic athlete. This is a daily ritual for an Anorexic. Seems extreme right? Well, every aspect from food to workouts is closely analyzed in an anorexic’s mind. Food and exercise control their life and their goal for weight loss is taken to the extreme; extreme enough that their life is at risk.
Many people believe that people who suffer from anorexia do it to themselves on purpose and it is all in their head. In one aspect they are right yes it is in their head, it is a physiological problem, but it also is a life threatening disease. Something that I want you to understand is that people die from this disease; it is called “Slow Suicide” for a reason. Many people think that this disease only affects girls, but that is another myth. Although it is more common in girls, boys are affected as well. This disease usually starts in the early teen years, the same time as puberty hits, attraction to the opposite sex manifests, and the media more readily affects their lives. Young teens see the super thin models and toned celebrities and want to look like them. So they start dieting and exercising. Nothing wrong with that right? Well no, but when the dieting and exercising takes over their lives, it is now a problem. In people with anorexia weight loss becomes a sign for control and the drive to become thinner is actually secondary to concerns about control or fears related to one’s body. The cycle of restrictive eating, often accompanied by other behaviors such as excessive exercising or the overuse of diet pills and/or laxatives in order to reduce body weight is pushed to the point of starvation. This cycle becomes an obsession and, in this way, is similar to an addiction.
You now know what anorexia is so what are the symptoms? Symptoms range from psychological to physical. Some psychological symptoms include: depression, irritability, strive for perfection in all aspects of their life, and a strong desire to be thin while they hate their current body. The physical symptoms are more severe. Their extreme weight loss affects their heart, for example, low blood pressure. Since they reduce their food intake the rate their food is absorbed is slowed leading to abdominal pain and constipation. The body’s endocrine system (glands) is greatly affected by anorexia, thyroid function is reduced to preserve the body meaning that your body is struggling to survive, a woman may lose her menstrual cycle, and a major hormone imbalance may occur. Bone density is lessened leading to frequent fractures and electrolyte imbalances due to laxatives can cause death. All of these symptoms can be deadly.
I want you to realize that this disease is not something you can catch from a virus or someone is born with. This disease is deadly, but it can be prevented. Look for these signs in your friends or yourself and get help. Yes it is wonderful to be thin, but having a thin body is not worth your life. The last situation anyone wants to be in is sitting in a hospital bed with a feeding tube because you are starving yourself. I know what many of you’re a thinking, “Why don’t people with anorexia just start eating again?” I know that is concept may seem easy to you, but to someone suffering from this disease it is the hardest thing in the world. Their mind will not let them get better, their stomach has been without food for so long that when food is let it they throw it back up, and they feel as if that one bite will ruin their body they have worked so hard to have. Anorexia is like being addicted to a drug, it runs your life, you feel as if you cannot live without it, and you cannot get better without help.
I have been criticized my whole life about my weight, when I was overweight people made fun of me, when I was underweight people called me anorexic and even now it still is a daily struggle for me. When I started dieting and exercising to lose weight I would have never guessed that I would lose control, but I did. I was very heavy growing up and into my teen years so I though being thin was amazing, but every goal reached can come with a consequence. I suffered from a case of anorexia, not something I am proud of, but it was a learning experience that changed my life. Eating food use to be an addiction for me, but then not eating was an addiction. I would hide food so I did not have to eat it, weigh myself every day, exercise constantly, and would take in less than 300 calories a day. My family had no idea what was going on, but my friends did. They would take me aside all the time to try a get me help, but it wasn’t until one day I looked in the mirror and saw someone I did not know. I was pale, always sick, very underweight, and my hair was falling out. Then I decided to get help. My weight will be a life struggle for me and it goes both ways, I have to watch what I eat because I am prone to being overweight, and I have to watch the way I deal with my weight so I do not lose control again. Anorexia is scary and life changing. What I ask of you is to watch what you say to others because the reason for my experience sparked from the jokes and names I have been called all my life. Realize that words hurt and you could secretly be killing someone and not even know it. Understand that the next girl or guy you call fat or anorexic is suffering from a disease! And your hate words only make their lives worse. Words push people to their breaking points, I broke and many others out there have too and the sad part is some are not here to tell their story.
The most exciting and memorable night of high school has arrived, my makeup is done, my hair is flowing with curls, I look like a princess in my dress that was specially made for me, and now I am ready to walk in to the party with all of my peers. With the first step I feel all eyes on me, I hear whispers, people smirk and laugh under their breaths, and at that very moment I realize that the hours I spent on my makeup cannot cover up the thickness of my face, the curls in my hair cannot hide my dimples, and my dress was specially made for me because I cannot fit in the dresses sold in prom stores. Prom, the most memorable night for a high school student just turned in to a night I wish I could forget because I am overweight. Have any of you felt uncomfortable in your own skin? Do people stare and laugh because you do not fit society’s image of perfect? Maybe you have glasses, well that can be changed with contacts. Maybe you have crooked teeth; you can fix that with braces. But how do you fix pounds of body fat that you have been carrying for years? Diets fail, workouts seem to go nowhere, and you have just decided to give up hope. For many teens this is a daily struggle and this prom scenario was probably their reality. Obesity is a major issue today for people our age, but there is hope.
The statement I want you to understand is that obesity and being overweight is a medical condition and there is a difference between obesity and overweight, obesity is past being overweight to the point where your health is majorly at risk. People who are overweight do not wish to be that way and many of them want to change but it seems impossible. Many aspects affect whether a person is prone to being overweight. Genetics play a big role, if your parents were heavy most over their lives then you are at a greater risk. Environmental aspects are diet (JUNK FOOD), lack of exercise, drinking sugary drinks, and temptation of indoor activities (video games) add to this issue. The scary problems with obesity are the health problems that go with it. Type 2 diabetes is very common, asthma because of restricted airways, sleep problems such as apnea from fat surrounding the throat, bone problems because of the excess weight, high blood pressure, and heart disease. These conditions are serious and life threatening when the life style is not changed.
Well, how can you change your body? By changing your lifestyle. The number one thing you need is determination and a strong will. This change is something you do not want to last a few weeks and go back to the way you lived before, this is a permanent change. As far as diet goes the first step is to slowly decrease portions to shrink your stomach. Also make a promise to yourself that junk food and sweets are no longer a part of your life. Adding more fruits and vegetables to your diet is key. Reduce the amount of red meat intake as well as no more fried food. Switching to low fat and low calorie is also important. And sorry but no more sodas or energy drinks that are pack with sugars. This may sound strict, but until you have a stable weight it will be tough. Most people who are not active cringe at the thought of working out, but it can be fun and it is vital to weight loss because without it you will not lose fat. Start slow, you do not need to work out 6 hours a day to get results. 30 minutes is a good start and you can do anything. Long distance running burns fat directly and any kind of aerobic exercise. You can even dance off the pounds! You will not even feel like you are exercising then because you are focused on the music. Another important part of changing your lifestyle is GETTING OUT OF THE HOUSE! Videogames are the main culprit of obesity. Some people can sit at a TV or computer screen for hours when they can be outside getting fresh air and exercising.
Now that I have told you how you can change if you are overweight or obese I want you to think about how these people who are struggling with their weight feel. How would you feel to have people constantly criticizing your weight? What if the only thing that defined you was your pant size? Our society is extremely focused on the prefect body. To most people “perfect” is a size zero and a tone body, but that is not realistic for most people. Instead of saying “Hey fatty” or “Look at her, she is so fat how can people like her?” Think about if that were you and you had to deal with this kind of verbal abuse every day. People who are overweight are usually unhappy with themselves and your hate words just makes matters worse. How can they heal and change their lives when they are constantly put down by others. It’s like climbing a mountain while rocks are thrown in your face, it hurts, you feel it is impossible to make it to your goal, and there is no one there to encourage you to push forward.
Now that I have preached to you about weight loss and how it makes overweight people feel I’m sure you are thinking “How can she give other people advice when she has no idea what it is like?” Well I am not speaking from a skinny girl’s perspective. This is not something I am proud of nor is it a time in my life that I want to revisit. I have been heavy most of my life and I do not mean just chunky either. Yeah, I started out chunky, but as I got to be teenager it just got out of control. When I was in sixth grade I was 5 feet tall and 185 pounds (I’m sure that does not paint you a pretty picture). Struggling with my weight most of my life I have heard almost every fat joke and criticism there is and what hurt the most was that it mainly came from my friends and family. Instead of people knowing me as “Chelsea” they knew me as the “fat girl.” I prayed every night to lose weight so I could be like my friends, but it never seemed to go away. So one day I just decided to change my life forever. It was the middle of my sixth grade year; I put myself on a low fat diet and started exercising. I cut all junk food, fried food, and sweets out of my diet. At first it was so hard I had thought of giving up, but I could not give up on my dreams of playing volleyball, running track, and dancing without losing my breath, fitting into clothes girls in my class wore and for the first time in my life having respect. Once summer hit it seemed like the pounds just melted off and I did it all by myself. I did not use diet pills, crazy diets, or extreme workouts I just used pure determination. I started my seventh grade year a new person and I will never be the “fat girl” again. From 7th grade to a freshman in high school my struggles with my weight became a whole other problem, because my obsession with weight loss got out of hand. So I have been from one end of the spectrum to the other, 185 pounds to 85 pounds. With the help of others and accepting myself I found a healthy balance. I have been the weight I am now for about four years now, I still struggle with my weight at times, but I have accepted the fact that I will always have to be cautious about my weight. So to the people out there that are struggling to lose the weight, I completely understand, but there is a way out. Also to those who are unhappy with their weight remember what Marilyn Monroe once said, “If you think you are not beautiful because you are not a size zero, you are the beautiful ones, society is ugly.”
Sweat drips from your forehead, your knees tremble, your heart skips a beat, the scent of sickness fills the air, your throat burns from the nauseous feeling deep in your stomach, the room is spinning, your thoughts race to your potential future of hospital beds and tears, but then your mind returns to the past and you realize one simple mistake you made cost you your future. The door creaks as the doctor steps into the room, the first word he says is “Sorry” and your heart hits the floor because you know the next words out of his mouth are “You have tested positive for HIV.”I know that no one out there wants to heard those words , but my question to you is do you truly understand what HIV/AIDS is and how to prevent it? Another question is how do you treat people who do have AIDS and do you believe some of the myths about AIDS?
HIV is the Human Immunodeficiency Virus that leads to AIDS or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. I know what you are thinking right now; I do not want to read a blog full of medical jargon that makes no sense to me. So I will make it simple. There are two types of HIV, HIV-1 and HIV-2, HIV-2 is mainly in Africa, but HIV-1 is the one you should be concerned with because it causes thousands of deaths a year in the United States. When you have contacted the virus you may have no immediate symptoms, but even though you feel healthy your immune system says different. HIV kills cells called T- cells that are crucial for fighting diseases. As time goes on your immune system has difficultly fighting off simple contagions and a simple flu virus can be deadly. There is currently no cure for AIDS, but there is medication to help prolong life, although even with medication the end result is an early death.
How HIV is transmitted is what you should really pay attention to because there have been many incorrect ways of transmission spread in society. The top four ways it is spread is by unprotected sex with a person who has HIV, having multiple sex partners, sharing needles or syringes for drug use, and being born to an infected mother. Some of the ways that it is not spread or the chance is near to none include: receiving blood transfusions because blood is always cleaned and tested, contact between broken skin and fluids from a person with HIV, kissing a person with HIV, air or water, saliva, sweat , or tears, insects, and casual contact. Oh and the one that really makes me laugh is; no you cannot contract HIV from a toilet seat. Also discrimination that only homosexuals have AIDS is completely untrue because heterosexuals have the same risk.
Now that you know how it is transmitted; you need to know three important things. GET TESTED, USE PROTECTION, and DO NOT DO DRUGS. You would think these things are very simple to handle and yet we are still spreading HIV. First and foremost, get tested, right now you are a simple needle pinch away from knowing your status. Everyone should be tested before having any kind of relation with another person. It is a confidential test that you can ask your doctor for. Once you know your results ask your partner to do the same. Secondly, you should always use protection whether you are in a homosexual or heterosexual relationship, and by protection I mean latex condoms. And we all know that we should not do drugs right? YES because they ruin your life and if you share needles you are potentially adding HIV to your blood stream.
You now know what HIV is, how you can get it, and how to prevent it so now I want you to think of a time when either you or your friends used a person with AIDS as the punch line of a joke. You should know that no one would deliberately ask to get HIV, so do you think that it is funny to have a future that includes pain, suffering, and ultimately having your life cut short? They did not ask for it and neither did the person that gave it to them, yes, their life styles may put them at risk, but every human makes mistakes and they pay for them with their life. Also being a homosexual does not mean you have AIDS stamped on the bottom of your foot, people are just more comfortable pointing the finger at them than saying “I got HIV from my girlfriend.” So I am asking you to stand up and take control of your future and realize what you say in other people’s expense is called Hate. “He who rejects change is the architect of decay. The only human institution which rejects progress is the cemetery.” – Harold Wilson
