Back in the day…

She was a little older; a down to earth gal.  I was divorced and had not dated in a few years.

Then we met in our neighborhood; the attraction was mutual. As we courted and grew closer both emotionally and physically, our passion lit and we were together almost every day.

As our relationship grew as well as our ‘passionate moments’, one day she casually steps to the back porch and says “Oh….by the way; I have herpes. But it’s not a big deal if I am not having an outbreak”.

OK, would have Liked To Have Known That!

I knew the physical trauma was like getting a pimple on your prom night, but I knew the social stigma attached to it. Thus we were together for a few years, and when we went our separate ways; I was now facing a society that sees this ‘Scarlet H’ on me .

Since then, I have done the research and became better educated, joined support groups, and have become involved in breaking down this barrier I face like so many others.

Currently I choose to not perpetuate the virus, by dating within ‘my community’, but will go into a relationship providing full knowledge and resources to a potential partner so she can make the choice to see me for ‘Me’ and not H.

I am proud to know the people I have met during this journey; and to feed on their strength of conviction to eliminate the ‘dirty’ stigma; I am just a regular Joe who was clouded by attraction and let sensibility sit by the wayside.

The majority of adults have at least one type of HSV; there are many out there who either do not know it, choose to ignore it, or act carelessly with it.  It’s time to put a stop not only to virus, but to break down the stigma and educate so we can interact as who we are, rather than the guy who had ‘a pimple on his prom night’.