I'M A NEGATIVE CREEP

This blog is about to get INSANELY personal, but i feel like it's necessary, in hopes of leading by example...

After the infamous Family Guy episode from two weeks back where they made light of HIV and AIDS, I decided to conduct an informal survey to see how many people I know have been tested for HIV. The results: not that many. Of the people I know who have been tested, they are people who get regularly tested as part of their yearly physical, and have tested negative.

I had never been tested for HIV becuase:
1. Those who know me and my sex life (or rather, lack-there-of), know that I have nothing to worry about.
2. I statistically fall into a category of people that have a low HIV rate (white, upper middle class, non IV drug user... this is according to statistics, not personal assumption).
3. I am a hypocondriac.
4. Despite this, I was scared.

But when I went to have a phyiscal on monday and the routine question "Would you like to be tested for HIV" came up, I decided that if I had nothing to worry about, then I should just get it done. If I'm going to be so bold as to be shocked when friends say that they've never been tested, then I shouldn't be a hypocrite and do it as well.

Well, I did it. And it was easier than I thought it would be. I was open about it with all my friends, telling them when I saw them "Hey! how are you! Guess what, i got an HIV test today!" I pray that my ability to have ease with the situation will help others I know realize that it's not so scary. When my doctor called to let me know that I was clear and healthy, I texted a bunch of my friends and told them the good news. Many of them replied with "Duh, you had nothing to worry about!" Others said "Wow, you're so brave. I'm too scared."

When I told a friend that I planned on blogging about taking an HIV test, she begged me to reconsider, saying that the people who read my blog are far too critical. She's right, my readers are often critical. But also, my readers are much like my friends (and previously myself) and possibly scared to face reality. If ONE person reads this and decides to get tested, then all the flaming this post could recieved will be worth it.