HIVhomegirl tested HIV-positive when she was 19. She didn't know she had been born with it until she became sick and a doctor suggested she get tested. This is her story.

It was clear to me now that despite all my efforts to hide it, everyone knew about my status. At first I had only told my family and very close friends, but slowly over a few months the word had spread. I decided not to deny it anymore.

The bad thing about being openly positive is that everybody knows. But the good thing is also that everybody knows! That means I don’t have to have any stressful conversations explaining. Particularly with guys.

Nobody teased me or confronted me. In fact, telling people made my life a lot easier. It made it more normal. One guy I met told me he too had been born positive.

I met David at a friend’s party. I wasn’t feeling particularly sexy nor was I really in the mood to go out that night. I was recovering from pneumonia and still a bit shaky. I mostly had early nights and kept it quiet.

I was trying to keep chatting to the randoms at a minimum so I decided to find an empty spot on a couch and enjoy the music from there.

David, seeing me chilling, asked if he could get me a drink. We ended up talking. I liked him. We decided to go for drinks elsewhere.

It turned out we lived within walking distance of each other. So he invited me to his place and said he’d take me home when I was ready. Neither of us was looking to hook up that night. But it soon became clear that we were both keen.

He knew about my status.

So he knew unprotected sex was a no-no. We sure did spend the night together – but we didn’t have sex.

You don’t have to be HIV+ to say ‘no’ to sex without a condom.

How long has HIVhomegirl managed her HIV successfully? Find out in her next blog.

To find out how HIVhomegirl got to this point click on the link below to start her story from the beginning ...