reflect

missing kenya, my masai family, and my dad today

I am currently sitting in the library procrastinating a bit-somehow in denial about having my first test as a grad student tomorrow...but i also wanted to put down in a words a few thoughts that have been bouncing around in my brain lately...


I had a conversation with one of my life mentors today and as we chatted about life, challenges we've been facing, and different approaches on how to handle things, I found myself telling her, as well as telling myself, that no matter what things work out. 


It is so easy for people to get stuck...whether it be about school, work, friends, boyfriends, girlfriends, etc. there is so much fear and uncertainty around the unknown so as human beings, we find it easier to shut things out-shut people out-shut opportunities out...but in essence this does not get us anywhere-we grow from experiences-we grow from mistakes-we grow from fear-we grow from taking chances...and at the end of the day, time keeps ticking away and things eventually work out-maybe not as we expect, but they do work out.


of course they do...whenever I get worked up about something or feel like I'm heading for a breakdown, I'll call my dad...my dad is probably the most level headed and practical people I know and one of his lines for me is,

'Krissy, its not the end of the world'

my response is usually short and something along the lines of 'UGH I KNOW DAD' but in reality I should take his comment into more consideration...perspective is key. of course the world isn't going to end and of course my life will continue, but in that moment it usually doesn't feel like it. I'm still learning how to step back, take a few breaths and realize that at the end of the day it isn't the end of the world-somehow everything will come together in time. so Mark, thank you for instilling this in my head and hopefully my panic calls will become less frequent!


moving on...in my Global AIDS Epidemic course I'm taking, today we discussed this article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/04/health/04hiv.html?pagewanted=2&hp

The article is about the hormone injection contraceptive...basically it acts as birth control and you don't have to take a pill orally, it is injected into the arm every 3 months and has been proven to be an effective birth control-sounds perfect, right? BUT the latest findings released on Monday are showing that this shot actually doubles the risk that women will become infected with HIV! AND when it is used by H.I.V.-positive women, their male partners are twice as likely to become infected than if the women had used no contraception. This is probably one of the most unfortunate discoveries and it actually hits really close to home for me...

Back in February, AYP hosted a women's health workshop and we actually prided ourselves in providing the shot to anyone who wanted it for free. My professor stated today,

'This is like taking 10 steps backwards in the fight against HIV/AIDS'

So i'm left feeling sad; not only is this going to create a larger problem for the international health field to attack, but it also leaves me feeling a bit responsible for providing something that could potentially be harmful to so many of my friends in Kenya.

But here are some positive articles on HIV/AIDS that I found that can hopefully allow readers to get a better grasp on the situation...

• http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/04/health/04global.html?scp=2&sq=HIV&st=cse
• http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/27/health/27baby.html?scp=6&sq=HIV&st=cse

and i'll leave you on that note...i strongly suggest reading these articles to educate yourself and allow it to inspire you in whatever way it does.