INTRODUCTION
If someone asked me about the impact of AIDS in Utah, I would respond that it is a huge problem, and it needs to be addressed immediately. Coming from such a conservative, sheltered community you would think I would guess low and think AIDS wasn’t a problem at all, but I was the minority and I felt it was my obligation to think outside of the box. I know the sheltered perceptions of Utahns is generally wrong especially on unspeakable things such as HIV/AIDS, men having sex with men (MSM), and the Gay Community in Utah. I come from a liberal family originally from the east coast so the move to Utah was quite the change. Because of my upbringing I rebelled against the general public views on politics, health, education, etc. I wanted my personality to come out; I wanted to be different from the regular Utahn. I feel I guessed high because I went out of my way to know the other side of the story. I listened closely to reports and television shows because I wanted the facts so I could make a good decision and back it with more than a “well, everyone else thinks that”. I obviously interpreted my sources wrong when I guessed 20,000 cumulative cases of HIV/AIDS in the Salt Lake County. The actual number is 1,725 cumulative cases of HIV/AIDS in Salt Lake County and 2,261 cumulative HIV/AIDS cases throughout the state.
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