All Nonfiction
- Bullying
- Books
- Academic
- Author Interviews
- Celebrity interviews
- College Articles
- College Essays
- Educator of the Year
- Heroes
- Interviews
- Memoir
- Personal Experience
- Sports
- Travel & Culture
All Opinions
- Bullying
- Current Events / Politics
- Discrimination
- Drugs / Alcohol / Smoking
- Entertainment / Celebrities
- Environment
- Love / Relationships
- Movies / Music / TV
- Pop Culture / Trends
- School / College
- Social Issues / Civics
- Spirituality / Religion
- Sports / Hobbies
All Hot Topics
- Bullying
- Community Service
- Environment
- Health
- Letters to the Editor
- Pride & Prejudice
- What Matters
- Back
Summer Guide
- Program Links
- Program Reviews
- Back
College Guide
- College Links
- College Reviews
- College Essays
- College Articles
- Back
Aids: My Lethal Reality MAG
AIDS is darkness. AIDS is fear. AIDS is a fatally multiplying brutality that is killing, destroying all that it comes in contact with. It is hunger starving for a cure. And AIDS is also the disease that has murdered my brother, taking from him his most precious possession - his life ....
The sky was rumbling softly, a distant storm approaching in the autumn night - the night that I found out. I had been lying in bed, counting the flashes of lightning outside, when I heard him in the next room crying. I sat up, listening, holding my breath.
I slipped out of bed and quietly padded across the carpeted floor of my room to his closed door. When I knocked, the crying stopped. I didn't wait for a reply. Swiftly I opened the door.
Silence filled the short distance between us. A flash of lightning brightened the room momentarily, and I caught a glimpse of his tear-stained face and devastated expression.
"What is it?" I stepped closer to him, the chill of fear beginning to creep into my blood. I could no longer see him in the darkness.
"It was a mistake, it had to be," I remember him mumbling, his voice barely a whisper. "They say I'm HIV positive ... I have AIDS ... all the tests came out positive ..."
At that moment I remember feeling completely drained. I began to shake uncontrollably. Again the lightning illuminated the room, but I turned away from his pleading eyes. I felt nauseous. He said my name, but I did not reply. It took me a few minutes before I found my voice, and that's when I began asking questions.
My brother had always had many girlfriends, and I knew he had slept with quite a few of them. So it wasn't a big surprise when he told me he had contracted the virus heterosexually. I also knew that he had been sick a lot more than what was considered normal; sick for the past seven or eight months, until he decided to get some blood tests run.
I remained in his room for the rest of the night, and I remained by his side for the following year and a half. It killed me inside to watch him die slowly. The virus caused him to deteriorate, without hesitation or compassion. I am filled with hatred for this disease. The memory of his pale thin body and his lifeless eyes will never leave my mind. It is a memory that has replaced all others. No longer is he the energetic, charming, attractive young man who could steal girls' hearts. No longer is he the older brother whom I could rely on and laugh with and share my secrets with. Now all I have is the memory of his dying, spiritless life - the life that AIDS has taken from him.
So I say AIDS is darkness and fear and hunger. I say AIDS is a deadly disease. And I also say AIDS is a reality, for no longer will I say it isn't real. It is the thief who has stolen my brother from the world.
Similar Articles
JOIN THE DISCUSSION
This article has 26 comments.
i really dont want ot have aids good thing im a virgin
this is real sad your can not be laughing on dis 4real doe it will not be funny if someone in your family had dis darkness in your life
that was pretty sadand me as a boy I feel real sorry and i wish you the best of luck, god bless your soal
0 articles 0 photos 12292 comments