I am 28. White. A Female. And a former Peace Corps Volunteer. I am HIV Positive. This is my story of how a few months, a few people, and a few events in Zambia changed me and my life forever. This is the story of how I contracted HIV and brought my Peace Corps Journey to a crashing halt... and how I am working now to pick up and put back together the pieces of my life as a newly diagnosed person living with HIV. This was not the journey I had originally planned... my path has traumatically and dramatically changed... but it is the one I am on now. There is no going back. There is only forward. I welcome you to follow along with me as I attempt to explore this new life ahead of me, whether you are someone from the Peace Corps community, or someone living with HIV. I welcome your comments, questions, suggestions, and opinions. Let us go forward together. To start from the beginning, click here He Gave Me More Than A Bracelet.

Friday, May 10, 2013

A Much Needed Update From Long Lost Jessica

People ask me "What's up with your blog? Are you done with it? Do you plan to keep it going?" Here is what I can tell you all:

I have no intention of completely abandoning my blog or readers. I love having the opportunity to share with people in this way. The honest truth is that I am busy living my life, and have naturally moved on a bit from it all. As I've shared my story and life with the world in the past year and a half- I have simultaneously been working through a barrage of thoughts and emotions within myself. Dealing with my HIV status is and always will be an ongoing process. I know that it will never be gone, but I also know that it will not always be in the forefront and focus of my life. I will have ups and downs. I will have times when it is all I can think (and write) about. But there will be times (like the past 6 months) where I've moved on a bit, where my life has developed a steady rhythm of normalcy, and I've almost forgotten that it's there. My life does not always have to be about HIV or being an advocate for HIV. I am still me, and I still have other parts of me.

With all that being said, please know that I am here, and will continue to be here. Know that behind the scenes, I continue to receive e-mails about my blog that I try my best to respond to. I have done my best to assist numerous people with online and school projects and other requests for advice or feedback that I've received.

More to come...I feel an "up" in my HIV writing on its way....

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