|
When I hear peer educator refer to the people in this program as
family, it´s clear to me why, after 14 years, I continue to
do this work. I am grateful to all the young people who, by sharing
happy and sad moments, have let me into their lives. It has been
my privilege to work with remarkable teenagers. I urge all of them
to use their abilities to turn their dreams into reality. My future
ambition is to spend my leisure time in the company of my pets and
family, drinking virgin piña coladas, while lying on a hammock
reading the latest best seller or responding to e-mail from former
peer educators.
Increasing knowledge and providing tools for better communication
will foster more positive attitudes in teens and allow teenagers
to feel empowered. That helps them make better choices. It´s
not only the teenage population that is at risk or being touched
by the epidemic, though. The older generations need to become more
open to the idea of talking about sexuality so that sex will not
be taboo, but dinner talk. HIV/AIDS and unintended pregnancies are
100% preventable.
After my sophomore year at New York University, I returned to HIV/AIDS
education with SPEEK. In March, I became a health educator. I love
the sharing of information and talent here. Still, I plan to return
to NYU to finish my BFA and then begin my quest for a law degree.
I want to put my various skills to work in a courtroom, because
we all know that "all the world´s a stage."
Since I started working 100% with the SPEEK Program I have learned
a lot about teenagers. I love working with the Peer Educators. I
love helping them when I can.
PEER EDUCATORS
I enjoy candlelight dinners, long walks on the beach and...health
education. I try to get across to other teens that, regardless of
the situation, the most important part of making any decision is
being empowered. The ability to say, "I am, I want, I feel" may
not seem difficult, but many people succumb to situations rather
than expressing their beliefs or ideas. Teens get pressured into
something like having sex or using drugs partly because they don´t
take charge or make themselves heard. Raising awareness of how to
prevent HIV has given me a chance to try to change that. So remember:
always SPEEK your minds!
Friends of mine are having unprotected sex to please their partners
or because they don´t have condoms. I tell my friends how
great the AHC clinic is and how it´s confidential (because
a lot of them are worried about their parents finding out). I also
try to help by giving them information, because I know HIV is a
big thing. I´ve known two people who had HIV and they´ve
both died of AIDS. It´s a sad and scary thing. No one should
have to deal with that. There isn´t enough sex education in
school and at home for teens. That´s why I joined SPEEK. I
plan to go to college and hope to teach or to write for a music
magazine. I listen to all types of music and spend a lot of time
listening to the radio, reading and writing. Those are things I
love most.
I’ve learned that many people who have HIV were infected when
they were teenagers. "We" are in such denial that it is
hitting us the hardest. I have plans of going away to college and
eventually working with teens. My interests include dancing, writing
(rapping), basketball with boys, and styling.
I attend LaGuardia H.S. as a vocal major, so singing is one of my
joys. I write a little music both lyrical and instrumental. I also
write poetry in my spare time. I would most definitely say I would
like to have a career helping young people. I’m torn between
being a teacher and a child psychiatrist.
I like hanging around my hood and just talking. I also like to model.
I want to become a police officer and have a modeling career. I
want a big house, a car, children, and a husband.
I've had to deal with HIV in my life in a very real way. It was
all over my community, and became vivid to me when I learned that
people I knew and loved had been affected. I'm proud that I've used
a painful experience of my own to do something positive for others.
I've also learned that difficult things in life can be overcome.
As a peer educator, I've contributed to books and brochures about
health and HIV/AIDS and I've led many empowering workshops. I've
also had fun. During one of our retreats I had to climb a 75-foot
tree and then zip-line to the ground. At first it seemed impossible,
but after finishing, I had a great sense of accomplishment. My ambition
is to attend college and achieve a career in law. I also like reading,
writing, relaxing at home, watching TV and going out with my loved
ones.
In life, I want peace and to be happy doing what I like: dancing,
shopping, going out to eat, listening to all kinds of music, and
hanging out with my close friends. I've always felt that when you
are talking about HIV, AIDS, STD's, condoms and sex, teens will
really listen and understand the advice when it is coming from another
young person. That's why I joined SPEEK. HIV has been affecting
young people at an alarming rate, but parents are not really talking
to teens about protecting themselves. I try to give my friends the
information about safer sex that I've learned here. SPEEK has also
helped me, because I've learned to communicate with very different
people about difficult topics.
I feel that too many teens don't take their bodies seriously or
make decisions based on their own best interest. Instead, they go
with peer pressure or don't bother to find out the facts. I would
love it if teens would think about themselves as someone very special
and let it be known that their lives are valuable. I try to assure
my friends that it will not be as hard as they think to use proper
protection, and that going to a clinic for check-ups could save
their lives. I spend most of my time reading books or writing poetry.
I want to receive at least a master's degree and to go into public
relations. Basically, I want the American dream: the house, husband,
boy and girl. But I can also live without that (smile).
One of my ambitions is to graduate from college and earn my Master’s
Degree in Nursing Administration. Chilling outside with my friends,
going to the movies and talking on the phone are just a few of the
things that I like to do in my spare time.
I became a peer educator because having a family member die from
AIDS slapped reality in my face. It has made me more cautious and
more eager to help people around me become aware. I want young people
to know that HIV can happen to them, and that rolling with the punches
unprotected is dangerous. That's why I like making condoms and clinic
information available to people we approach in the neighborhood.
The best is when teens approach us even before we get to them. This
gives me high hopes that they'll use the condoms and share the information
and bag of condoms with friends. Besides working for SPEEK, I enjoy
sewing, travelling, having fun and collecting Barbie dolls (one
day they will be worth money).
When I found out that people I know have HIV, I had a lot of questions.
They were open with me, so I asked, "How did you contract it?" Most
of them said they got HIV from unprotected sex. It cleared up my
misconception that only gay people have HIV, because they were heterosexual.
Knowing their stories made me wiser when making my own decisions
about sex. It's important for me to educate my peers, because young
people need to know about HIV but find it hard to talk to their
parents about sex. They have a fear of being judged. When I'm not
working at SPEEK, I am playing baseball or watching basketball and
hockey. I love to read and go to dinner and a movie with my peeps.
I also love school. I am open to new ideas and learning new things.
|
Kennesha,
21