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Anya & Mateo, 2000.
Anya
March 23, 2000
I'm thankful to say that I'm still alive and well! Around the time of our interview, I was slowly trying to piece my life back together, attempting to stand on more solid ground. I hoped that I could fulfill some long-term goals before I got sick. My first goal was to complete college. I figured that I could at least attempt to finish what I started and hopefully get to the point where I could earn the degree I worked so hard for. My approach was one foot in front of the other, one semester at a time.
In November of 1995, while I was still working at the acupuncture clinic and taking classes again at San Francisco State University, I met a wonderful man named Mateo. Just when I was as cynical about love as I could be, tired of disclosing my status on dates, and thinking I wouldn't find my soul mate before I died, he came into my life. I was concerned about disclosing to Mateo. After first meeting him, I knew that there was something very special about this guy. I wanted to tell him about my status as soon as possible because I did not want to get too hurt if he had apprehensions about dating someone who was positive. On our first date, after amazing conversations and a great dinner at my apartment, we took a walk into Golden Gate Park. We had been talking for days on the phone in advance of our first date and I was already enjoying him so much. So, I gathered my strength on our walk and told him about my HIV status. He was so compassionate and already very informed about HIV; his response was intelligent and warm. He told me that learning of my status just made him admire me more and want to learn more about me. Things went smoothly from there on and exactly one year later in the same spot in Golden Gate Park, Mateo proposed to me. We were married in San Rafael on a beautiful spring day on May 4, 1997. I graduated from SFSU around the same time and I felt truly blessed!
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