Foreword
Shelly

I have always been fascinated by the manner in which literary and artistic works can often express ideas far more eloquently and emotionally than everyday communication. I was first turned on to the idea of creative expression when my high school boyfriend shared his poetry with me. I was amazed at how beautiful and powerful words really could be. While I am not personally skilled at writing poetry or creating art, I have become very appreciative of those who do have these creative talents.

My high school boyfriend is also the reason I first became interested in the idea of community voices. He taught me a lot about appreciating the different experiences each person goes through. He showed me that there is a ‘personal’ side to everything you learn about — a community of people whose stories need to be heard. He taught me to learn from within, whether it be a community of certain race, a community of a social class, or, a community of people with HIV/AIDS.

A final project for one of the last classes of my college career was the perfect excuse for me to combine my interest in creative expression with my desire to learn about the ‘personal’ side of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The class was called ‘AIDS In America,’ and, while I learned a great deal about the epidemic from all different angles, I wanted more. All of the personal accounts we heard in class focused on the person’s illness. I wanted to learn from people living with HI V/AIDS, but I didn’t want to focus on their illness. Instead, I wanted to focus on a different aspect of their being (because there is more to a person than their illness!) — I wanted to focus on the talented creativity that some people affected by HIV/AIDS possess.

This is the reason behind this journal. I wanted to do a project that would not only benefit my classmates and I, but would also (hopefully) benefit the community of people that the ‘AIDS In America’ class focused on. I hope that everyone who lays eyes on this collection, whether it be someone in my class, someone affected by HIV/AIDS, or a random reader, will allow themselves to learn something new.

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