Dear Badass

Dear Champion, 

Dear Bad-Ass, 

Dear Hellraiser, 

Dear Advocate, 

Dear Survivor…

DEAR YOU,

However you describe and define yourself, you are here.

You have overcome a life-transitioning diagnosis. You have faced stigma and built a community. You have championed the challenges of fighting for funding, and turned the tide on being at decision-making tables with the declaration that Nothing About US is About Us! You survived Reagan and AZT. Some of you are old enough to be a long-term survivors but not old enough to have AARP. Your chronological and biological ages aren’t what fully define you in being the amazing human you are living with a virus that has taken so many. You are surviving. You are thriving. You continue to fight and hold state-level policymakers accountable for your human rights and you are leading with your legacies beyond COVID-19.  You have kept your eyes open in spite of the blinders society wears to the very existence you behold. You have risen above, stood on top, pushed through, and carried on putting your entire blood, flesh, and T-cells into making every breath count.

And even for those moments or days when you didn’t show up at your best or felt that you couldn’t. You did.

The day you received your diagnosis. The first time you confided your status to a loved one. And the second time, and the third, and so on. The day you started your treatment and didn’t know how you were going to make it like this for the rest of your life. The day you woke up and took your meds was a little less bothersome. Every birthday you’ve celebrated. The day you realized you are more than your diagnosis. The day you accepted that your dreams were not a biohazard or cautionary tale. The day you looked at your reflection and didn’t cry. 

There are shoulders of greatness that you stand upon; there are shadows of stigma you’ve emerged from. Most of you ARE the shoulders of greatness holding up trailblazers and torch snatchers just like you. There are avenues of innovation and boulevards of dreams. There is a journey to be traveled and you, my beloved friend have magnificently paved the way for us to be closer to our liberation.

Your history is embedded in hope. Your legacy is empowered by living your truths. Your victories are anchored by simply showing up and living day by day. Your viral load doesn’t define you. This diagnosis doesn’t delay you. But this day, dear long-term survivor - celebrates you. Thank you for being here. Thank you for not just surviving, but thriving. 

Sincerely, 

A Long-Term Survivor That Almost Didn’t Make It; 

Kamaria Laffrey, Diagnosed 2003