Illustration by Quavus Scott l VOX Staff

By Raquel Walker
VOX Staff

Sitting at a funeral for a family friend who died of AIDS when I was 8 years old, I was clueless about the disease. All I knew was the only thing you get out of AIDS was death. That made me very scared of what the disease could do to people. So I would do ignorant things like change the subject or crack unnecessary jokes whenever AIDS was brought up in conversations. I didn’t know how big of a problem HIV/AIDS were.

Even though I acted as if I didn’t care about AIDS, having known someone who died of it, the topic always caught my attention, but I didn’t have the courage to find out more about it. When I was about 11, a classmate told me, “People in the United States don’t catch AIDS; only people in Africa and India catch AIDS.”

I always knew that myth wasn’t true, but being young, I fed into the lie and so did a few classmates. HIV/AIDS does not discriminate cultures, gender or age. Anyone is capable of getting HIV/AIDS.

My Questioning Mind
Growing up I’d always seen public service announcements on TV about HIV/AIDS, and I would also hear adults and professionals speak about that subject. Eventually curiosity began to get the best of me, so I decided to do my own research. After learning simple details and still not understanding the facts, I felt there was more I needed to know.

A couple months ago, I attended a discussion about HIV/AIDS at VOX. As a teenager, not once in my life had I been exposed to an up-close-and-personal conversation on the topic. By hearing the things I finally needed to hear about HIV/AIDS I was totally shocked. I learned the truth about how big the AIDS epidemic is in the world and our community. “In Georgia an estimated 2,174 young people received a diagnosis of AIDS in 2004,” according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

That day, the topic grabbed all my attention, and my eager mind wanted nothing more than to learn more statistics, information and advice. I wanted to do as much as I could to help.

Getting to Know the Facts
Today, many teens and adults are seriously overlooking HIV/AIDS. Some people are not being taught the problems and risks of HIV/AIDS. Other people are living with the motto, “I will never catch HIV/AIDS.” No one is invincible from contracting HIV/AIDS. Even famous Magic Johnson got infected with HIV.

HIV is a virus that attacks the immune system, which makes the body much more vulnerable to illness. AIDS is a chronic, life-threatening condition caused by HIV, according to the Mayo Clinic.

There are only a few ways a person can contract HIV, according to the medical Web site WebMD.com: birth (if a mother has AIDS and doesn’t treat it), exchanging body fluids through unprotected sex and oral sex, or sharing needles. HIV is not transmitted thorough casual contact like kissing, using public restrooms, hugging, sharing eating utensils, swimming in pools or coughing.

Symptoms for HIV are similar to the flu. They include fevers and sweats, coughing and shortness of breath, weight loss, diarrhea and swollen lymph nodes, according to the Mayo Clinic. But many people may not show any symptoms for up to nine years and can still pass on the disease.

I know it’s hard to realize the truth about HIV/AIDS, but we have to face the facts. One out of four Americans with HIV does not know he or she has the virus, according to the CDC. The only way to know if you are HIV positive is to get tested. If you are at least 13, you can get a free HIV test without your parent or guardian’s permission in Atlanta.

The best way to avoid contracting HIV/AIDS is to stay abstinent and not do drugs. Teens can use protection when having sex, but there is no guarantee that a condom will protect them from contracting HIV.

Taking a Stand
There is still no cure for AIDS, and AIDS is one of the biggest causes of death in the world. About 3.1 million people around the world died of AIDS in 2005, according the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). More than 16,000 of those people were in the U.S., according to the CDC.
Learning that you are HIV positive can feel like a death sentence. But a lot of research has been done and effective treatments have been developed, There is antiretroviral medication that slows the progression from HIV to AIDS and can keep some people healthy for many years, according to AVERT.org, an international AIDS charity.

Learning about HIV/AIDS has made me more aware of my surroundings and made me want to stay abstinent and drug-free. I plan on passing the information I’ve learned on to my peers, family, friends and the uninformed.

Raquel is a sophomore at Carver High, and she says she loves exploring new things.