I used to loathe the thought of taking a pill every day for the rest of my life, and I would hate taking my vitamins. I was hesitant only because my parents would tell me not to take medications growing up. It was only due to ignorance and stigma. They would tell me to try to use home remedies, as I come from a conservative, Mexican, catholic household.

It was an instant high. I started using drugs because of the things I was facing. I was drinking, and somebody turned me onto crack. That's what got me started selling my body to get my money to get my drugs. I wasn’t using protection. It was 1999 when they let me know that I was HIV positive. I found out by going to a blood bank and trying to donate. That’s how the results came back. I thought that I was going to die, so, I went back and got high again. I thought once you get HIV it’s AIDS, and you die. I didn’t have any information on the healing of the situation.