AIDS
by M. E., Bethel, VT
Death is inevitable. Although aware of the fact, we are unwilling to acknowledge it. In a world where people like to understand everything, a concept as inconceivable and mysterious as death is threatening. To make ourselves feel more secure, we search for an answer to the universal question - why do people die? Some deaths are easier to justify. When an elderly person passes on, the usual explanation is, they were ready. Few reasons are supplied when someone who should be living life to its fullest is killed. Someone my age, for instance.
At fourteen, I have still never been personally exposed to death or dying. Therefore I cannot write intelligently about a sorrow I have never felt or a pain I have never endured. I only know what it means to be alive: to feel, to see, to touch, to do, and to anticipate. To me, AIDS is not a disease that causes "death, " it simply makes people lose "life."
My life revolves around family, friends and school. Every day I discover new things by exploring the world and learning about its people. But most important, I am learning about myself. Who am I? Life is a time for me to find myself, but sometimes I am afraid that the opportunity might slip through my fingers. Loss of life is death and AIDS causes death. I do not want to get AIDS. I do not want to die.
By living, we develop varying outlooks, philosophies and beliefs that make us unique. Until the members of our society begin to rejoice in these differences and place more value in the lives of others, AIDS will continue to kill. We need to care - care enough to educate our children about AIDS, care enough to support those already infected, and care enough to work hard so that we can find a cure. Right now, the most effective cure we have is ... to care.