Things That Matter: HIV/AIDS Research

Last night, for reasons hitherto unknown the internet was not working. It took hours for my VEDA video to upload. So, I'm posting a day late because the video didn't even upload to YouTube until after midnight. I was already asleep at that point and you have to be out of your mind if you think I'm going to wake up from a dead sleep to write a blog post. Cuz I'm not.

If this was me at 8:30, imagine how I felt when the video uploaded at 1:00 AM.

The topic for Day 21 was to just talk about something that matters to you. I tried to cop out. I was tired and I felt very vulnerable when I considered talking about a thing that really did  matter to me, so I tried 5 times to make a video about something else. Anything else. Something easy. This was a colossal failure and on take 6 I realized that I had to talk about HIV/AIDS research.

A lot of research going on, and funding is a huge issue. There's never enough money for these sorts of things. There's never enough money for most kinds of research, but Kim Kardashian has about a jillion dollars. Because that's fair. If you have a few spare shekels, I hope you'll consider sending a few in the direction of a the AIDS Research Alliance.

Thankfully, research has brought about a preventative measure that is as effective as condoms and nearly as effective as abstinence. If you are in an at risk group, please look into Pre-Exposure Prophalaxis (AKA: PrEP). It's a serious game changer.  Here's a link to Honey LaBronx talking about PrEP, which is how I learned about this drug in the first place.

HIV/AIDS research means a whole lot to me, but I find it very difficult to talk about these days. I'm sure you could tell as much from the video. It's one thing to be outspoken about the matter when the Elton John AIDS Foundation is as close to the problem as you've ever been. It's very different when you've watched someone die. I have this anxiety about saying the wrong thing, so I find it very difficult to say anything sometimes. Today I found my voice though, and hopefully that makes some difference to someone out there.

The main point of the video is this: The fight isn't over. Educate yourselves.