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A Definition |
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I sat slouched in my cold, metal desk watching my elderly gym teacher, Mr. Hildabrand, uncomfortably read off sexually transmitted diseases and their definitions. “Syphilis…Gonorrhea…Chlamydia…AIDS.” I lazily scribbled in my notes, “Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome – an infectious disease caused by HIV.” From an entire semester of health class during my senior year in high school, the only information I was given regarding AIDS was a simple definition. I was unaware of its history, the number of lives it had taken or even its presence in my own town. I merely viewed it as another STD that teachers taught in health class for the pure purpose of scaring us children out of having sex. Despite the fact that my teachers only provided me with a definition, my first memory of AIDS takes place at my high school, Ridge. Everyday when my friends and I would leave the lunchroom, we would walk by long white tables where various student organizations would promote their club or an event they were hosting. One day as I was walking out of the cafeteria as usual, an attractive upperclassman stopped me and my friends, encouraging us to visit his table. Flattered by the fact an upperclassman was even talking to us freshmen, I led my group of friends to his table. Still flattered, I tried to listen as he lectured us about “AIDS Awareness.” While I did not come away understanding the magnitude of the AIDS epidemic, I did pin a tiny red ribbon onto my backpack, which remained there for the rest of my freshman year. It is sad that these two memories are the only times I learned about AIDS at my high school. I have no memory of an AIDS speaker, and AIDS event or even being informed as to where one would get tested. Therefore, when asked how many AIDS cases had been diagnosed in my home town, Somerset County, I froze. At that moment I realized I had never heard of an AIDS case anywhere near my home. Required to answer the question, I slowly and insecurely wrote 10; after staring at it another minute, I reluctantly added another zero. It was then revealed that Somerset County, my home, had reported 856 AIDS cases as of December 31, 2006. And that, as I soon found out, was just the beginning.
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A Definition The Facts Newspaper Television A Final Word |
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