Today I have been trapped in my apartment working on a paper. The grad school life struggle. However, I didn't want this day to go by without acknowledging the importance of February 7th, National Black HIV & AIDS Awareness Day. The few times I checked my Instagram and Facebook I only saw ONE post about it. Are people not informed about it? Or do they not care? Being the buoyant individual I am, I told myself-people just don't know about it. You can celebrate the day in many ways: talk with friends about how disproportionately African-Americans are affected by HIV & AIDS, get tested, volunteer to help with HIV & AIDS prevention/treatment outreach, educate yourself about how preventable HIV is, and share on social media so your followers will know as well!

When it comes to health issues, there aren't a lot that we can prevent-some just happen. However, HIV & AIDS isn't one that just happens. It is 100% preventable! Take your sexual health into your own hands, get tested. The OraQuick test literally takes 20 minutes just a quick swab of the mouth. Don't worry if you don't have health insurance there are tons of locations that perform FREE testing and you can even purchase them at pharmacies. I advise you do it at a center with a tester who is well equipped to assist you if the test comes back positive. I work at a place that performs testing and the testers are extremely knowledgeable and supportive.

This day of commemoration has been going on for 15 years. Add it to your calendar so you won't ever forget and also share it with friends!  There are numerous HIV & AIDS Awareness days, become familiar with them. This is an issue that affects ALL OF US!

Do you know about the awareness days? How can we spread knowledge about these days so they are common knowledge like any other holiday?