First Time Secrets

Last night I watched a great show on MuchMusic (Canada’s version of MTV) called “Music Is My Life.” The show features young people who have been inspired by music to achieve a difficult goal or even just live through a bad situation — as they tell their stories, you listen to the music that played this role in their lives. Great show.

Last night’s episode featured a girl named Desiree. She’s 22 today, and when she was just 17, her doctor told her that she had HIV. She caught it from her boyfriend.

Desiree is an amazing girl. She continues to deal with the reality of living with HIV, and spends a lot of her time traveling and talking to other young people about HIV, AIDS, and the myths and misconceptions people have around sex and STIs (sexually transmitted infections).

I was impressed and humbled by Desiree’s commitment to helping others avoid the mistakes she’s made. She reminds people that yes, you can get an STI the first time you have sex, and that using a condom is still one of the most effective ways to protect yourself and your partner.

And most of all, I was impressed by her attitude to her own illness, and to life in general. She’s not preachy or angry or bitter — she’s friendly, positive, and takes a lot of pride in her role helping others.

Here’s Desiree’s story on living with HIV. (While it’s available on the show’s homepage, anyway! Also note that you may have trouble viewing this outside Canada — something to do with MuchMusic’s lawyers.)

Please remember that just because you’re young, or just because it’s your first time, you can still catch a life-threatening STI if you don’t play it safe. You deserve better. Learn the basics and know how to protect yourself.