Laura’s story was hard to bare, I could not believe she was with someone for three years and come to find out the person she was with had AIDS. I felt so bad, her story made me think that sex is no joke. She made a clear statement that struck the back of my spine, “About one million are infected with HIV, and about 350,000 do not know it”. She also said, “if you are having unprotected sex, you are part of it”. What scared me the most was how right she was. Till this day, I hear her voice ringing in my head when I think about being with a girl. All I can think about is making sure I protect myself with a condom or even considering not having sexual acts. The next speaker, Kathy, was a beautiful 23-year-old, who broke my heart.

As I type right now, I start to get upset because of how heartbreaking her story was. Kathy told her story and how she went away to Hawaii, and met a guy who she fell in love with. She went on to tell the class that she had never had sex with anybody before, except this guy she met in Hawaii. Kathleen ended up having unprotected sex and becoming infected with HIV. This made me so upset because she has a full life in front of her and now it is slowly disappearing. This is not fair at all! Her story makes me think how lucky I have been with previous relationships. My heart goes out to Kathy, and what she said about protecting yourself will remain implanted in my head for the rest of my life. What also upsets me is that I relate Kathy to my younger sister who is just as beautiful and intelligent as Kathy. If something like this ever happened to my sister I would lose my mind. The final speaker, Rick, was a little different from Laura and Kathy.

Rick contracted the AIDS virus about 15 years ago, and has his own pharmacy. I also felt bad that Rick contracted the virus because no one deserves to become infected with HIV, regardless of his or her sexual preference. Rick made me laugh because he was almost relaxed about discussing how many pills he had to take a day. He was joking about it. He literally had to take 14 medicines twice a day. I can honestly say, I give this man credit because I would not be able to live with all the side effects he faces everyday. Rick also said what both Laura and Kathy said, “make sure you protect yourself”.

In closing, I want to thank Laura, Kathy, and Rick for their stories because they have opened their hearts to convince us, the students that we must protect ourselves while involved with sex. All three of them deserve praise for what they have done because not everyone can get in front of a class discussing the issue of AIDS. My heart goes out to Laura, Kathy, and Rick. I hope they continue to inform others about the seriousness of the disease, instilling the fear when having unprotected sex. To end on an important note; people must realize if they are having unprotected sex, they are part of the 350,000 who may not know they are infected.