Today is National HIV Testing Day. Do you know your status?
Why should it matter how many people you’ve slept with? How your sexual exposure rate can increase your risk of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.
85% of Black women with HIV contracted the disease through heterosexual sex.
Graphic from: US Conference on AIDS
Have you ever rushed out of the house in the morning and forgot your earrings, or wallet? Once you realized it, it just completely threw off your day! A moment of anxiety completely overtakes you and you began to think about all of the what ifs. What if I get stopped by the police? What if the guy I have been crushing on actually speaks to me? Something inside of you just feels kind of empty and incomplete.
Well, what about the feeling when you forget to wear a condom. You’re rushing, in the heat of the moment, and go ahead and indulge into sexual pleasure. After all is said and done, that sudden rush of anxiety overtakes you because you forgot to put on a condom. Just like once you realize you forgot your earrings, you think about all of the what ifs. What if I’m pregnant? What if I contracted an STD? What if I’m HIV Positive? It’s not until the event has already passed that we take a second and think about all the things we could have done to prevent this situation from happening, so we wouldn’t have to worry about the what ifs. Sometimes it’s just as simple as learning from a mistake and correcting it, and then sometimes you have to deal with the consequences of that mistake.
Consequences of a spontaneous action are rarely ever thought about before the action is committed. But, it is important to consider the consequences of our actions and realize the decisions that we make can change the course of our life. People often say that everything happens for a reason, but that reason typically comes about after the result of an action. Did the reason you went to jail really have to happen as a result of you forgetting your wallet? Did the reason you contracted HIV really have to happen as a result of not using a condom?
It’s important to think through situations and expect the unexpected. Expect that you may rush and forget your earrings or your wallet. Expect that person might have had sex with someone who is infected, and use a condom. Wear a condom. Protect yourself when engaging in sexual activities.
Someone asked me what exactly do I do to make sure that I don’t become infected with HIV. It’s pretty simple. I expect the unexpected, and make sure that I always use a condom because it only takes one time for HIV to come into your system. So I plan ahead of time and think about what the consequences may be as a result of my actions, and make sure I’m not rushing so I wont forget my earrings.
