Thread by @labi_rhodes

Today 5 years ago, I received my HIV diagnosis. From my sister!
Technically everyone in my immediate family knew before I did.
I was told my brother almost fainted when he was told.
I was calm in the midst of it all. Started my ARVs 2months after

and in less than a year, I became undetectable.
Over the course of five years, I've had a range of experiences. There were people who loved me no matter what and for that, I'm grateful. There were people I had to educate and I'm thankful that they learnt one or two things.

There were some that just didn't get the gist. Some would ghost immediately I told them. Some would come with crazy excuses. Some tried to shame/blackmail me..lol.
In all, I'm thankful for life. For growth. For friends. For support systems.

For the anonymous people I would rant to online.
I hope that in the next 5 years, alot more people would become more aware about Undetectable = Untransmitrable.
I hope that I wouldn't have to care about discrimination to hide my status.
I hope that things get better.

So if you're newly diagnosed, I just want to say this is not the end. Things may seem murky at the beginning. But #itgetsbetter. You can be #undetectable too. Just get on your meds and never forget to pop that daily pill.

Xoxo.❤💛