As a child I was never one to be outgoing or extroverted. I was rather very reserved and kept to myself. During my teens I would spend many days and nights locked up in my room watching endless hours of television. Some may view that time in my life as sad or lonely, but I found solace and peace for the most part as I would shut out the entire world. I made very little friends and hardly ever socialized. It is, however, very opposite to who I have become in the past year. Those who knew me then see a very different person before them now... more

My Name is Arnaldo Cordero, and I am 42 years old. I am a l recovering alcoholic, and I'm HIV positive. I was diagnosed on August 7th, 2004 and I want to share a little bit of my story.

On July 9, 1966 in Ponce, Puerto Rico, a black, homosexual and Puerto Rican child was born. My mom gave birth to a baby girl, but she passed after a few days of life. They wanted another baby girl to take her place, but instead they got me. Little did they know that I would change everything about their lives; their catholic beliefs and their moral principles more so than any other girl they expected. I was the only child and as a result, there would be no continuation of our last name as there... more

I was born in Brooklyn in 1955 from Puerto Rican parents and was raised in the Bronx. I found out I was HIV Positive in 1987, when my daughter was born. Neither my wife nor daughter are HIV positive.  I lived a life of "destruction" and I changed it to one of "construction". Depression overtook my life because I could no longer do the things I used to. On July 15^th, 2004 I started playing one of the congas I had at home. The congas gave me a sense of relief from the negative thoughts that filled my... more

Hello, everyone! How are you all doing, as for me and my family are fine.  My name is Rita (not real name) telling you my story about my family and future. 

My story begins on July 5, 2005 when I was getting ready to give birth to my second baby, I also have a five year old daughter who doesn’t know, but soon she will know, she is healthy and going to school... more

I was born in Nicaragua but grew up in Los Angeles, California and Miami, Florida. It was my grandmother who raised me as a young boy in Nicaragua as my mother immigrated to the United States. After a few years, I eventually followed her to L.A.

As a young adult I felt uncomfortable using a condom when I had sex. I had not educated myself about the HIV/AIDS virus. I really didn't care about it because I didn’t think it would affect me. I figured that AIDS... more

Its not easy living with HIV for 11 years.
Its not easy having cancer, herpes, AND hepatitis B.
Its not easy to stick with my difficult medical regimen.
Its not easy to deal with side effects from the medicines that are supposed to keep me alive.
Its not easy to look at your body as it becomes deformed by lipodistrophy.
Its not easy to look in the mirror and see what these diseases have done to you.
Its not easy to live in a world where homosexuality is viewed so negatively. ... more