Name: Kassidy 

 Age:16

 Hometown: Clovis, CA

 Number of years at Camp Kindle: 3 years

 Dancer Marathon Color Group: Lime

  Kassidy’s Bio

Hi! My name is Kassidy. I am 16 years old and I am from Clovis, CA. I play volleyball for my high school and I enjoy singing and writing in my spare time. I like to write about my life because it helps me vent. I also write my own songs, but I do not perform them. I write my own raps too and I like to rap for people. My favorite singer is Colbie Caillat because I can relate to her music. When I grow up I want to be an AIDS activist. I hope to start my own nonprofit and have speakers educate people around the country.

I learned at the age of 8 that I have AIDS. I remember getting pulled out of class to go to a doctor’s appointment but when I got there, my mom was quiet. My doctor came in with 3 other doctors and at first I was confused because it was usually only him, my mom, and me in the room. It was right then and there he told me I had a disease known as AIDS. My mom started crying and so did I. The only reason why I was crying was because my mom had started. It wasn’t until I was 11 that l actually knew what AIDS was and how it could affect my life.

Everyday since I was a baby, I’ve had to take meds. Most of the time when I take them it’s just routine, but there are those times when I’m reminded of why I have to take them, and wonder how different my life would be if I wasn’t infected.  It’s hard to spend the night at people’s houses especially when they don’t know about my AIDS status. I feel like I am hiding a huge secret from them and even though I can choose who I tell and when I tell, my mind tells me they have a right to know, but my heart doesn’t want to be broken.

I first got involved with Camp Kindle three years ago. My favorite part of camp is seeing all the campers and meeting new people. I like SPEAK OUT the best because I like listening to other people’s stories and sharing my own story.

This is my second year attending Dance Marathon at UCLA. This year I am excited to be an ambassador because it is something new.  I have no idea what to expect, but I am excited to share my story. My favorite dance move is the shopping cart!

I can’t wait to meet everyone at Dance Marathon and tell them my story!

Update from 11/21/11

Kassidy wants the Bruins to WIN!

Update from 11/28/11

When I think of HIV/AIDS (which is often for me), I think of Camp Kindle and how much it means to me. Camp Kindle makes me think of my second family. My second family (CK campers, counselors, and everyone in between) makes me think of how much my life at home differs from camp-life and my home life makes me think of my mom. My mom makes me think of why I’m stuck with AIDS and eventually, I end up thinking about HIV/AIDS. So the cycle starts all over and sometime in the future I hope to think of HIV/AIDS as a vague memory and only learn about it in history books where it belongs.

Yes taking medicine everyday of your life isn’t recommended, nor is it anything to look forward to. Yet at the same time, if you are infected, I wouldn’t advise you to not take your medicine just because “you don’t feel like it or you’re an adult and you can choose what to do with your life.” There are plenty of times when I don’t “feel like” taking my medicine and I have this “I can choose what to do with my life” sort of attitude and it’s true; but when people decide to not take their medicine, they won’t have the opportunity to choose what they do with their life, because they’ll end up with an opportunistic infection or different kind of illness which could lead them to death. So medicine is the only cure for HIV/AIDS as of today and I’d take it the rest of my life if it meant keeping me healthy and keeping my life. People may have certain side effects, me being one of them, but they’re worth having in the grand scheme of things.

My family is affected by HIV/AIDS because my mom and I have it. She has had it for about 22 years and I’ve had it since I was three months old. I’m the only child out of 5 that has this disease and so life isn’t “as easy” or care-free as my other siblings but because of this disease, I feel like I can truly appreciate everyday that I’m here on Earth more so than my siblings are able to.

If people knew I had AIDS, well… people do know I have AIDS. Since the end of my eighth grade year, I’ve had opportunities to share how HIV/AIDS has impacted my life with many of my friends, some of my acquaintances, and more strangers than I’ve gotten the chance to count. I’m not scared to share my “secret” with anybody because my fear of letting ignorant people stay ignorant is much bigger than my fear of wondering whether they choose to be my friend or not. I put secret in quotes because secrets are supposed to be things you keep to yourself, hence the word secret; obviously I’m choosing to let people know, I’m choosing to live my life to the fullest, and I’m choosing to overcome this fear of not being accepted. Personally, I think it’s the imperfections in people that they choose to make positive that make them beautiful.

There are multiple ways I deal with HIV/AIDS in my life. One is taking my meds. One is speaking out about this disease. One is not being afraid. One plus one plus one is 3. They say the third time’s a charm but each time I take my meds, each time I speak out about this disease and each time I choose to not be afraid, well, those to me I count as charming. Thank you for reading/listening.strong>

Kassidy’s experience on World AIDS DAY

The purpose of World AIDS Day is to raise awareness and show support for people living with HIV/AIDS. I’m one of the estimated 1 million people in the U.S. living with AIDS… living with this disease is not a fun or normal thing. In fact, many people in the U.S. who are living with this disease are stereotyped due to others lack of education on this subject. This past World AIDS Day, more than 30 people (friends, family and teachers) at my school alone wore red to support my mom and I, along with the other 999,998 people who are infected. I handed out about 15 AIDS ribbons for those who were not wearing red so all in all, 45 people supported those of us who are infected with HIV/AIDS! This number may seem like a small amount if I was talking about how many songs people store in their iPods but because I’m talking about the number of people who chose to support people like me, this is a big number. I am a high school student who isn’t afraid to take chances and share my story with others to raise awareness and educate if it means helping someone be more careful and/or not judge so quickly. Every year since I can remember, I’ve attended a ceremony at the Tower District in Fresno but this year, was by far the most memorable because of the love and support I received from the people at my high school and countless others that I’ve gotten the chance to know at Dance Marathons, Camp Kindle, Project Kindle and of course the love and support I’ve received from my family! Thank you to all those people out there who make us feel worthy of life and thank you to those who accept us! My brother Jarod once told me “It’s ok to not be ok… Know the best thing about darkness? When your eyes adjust to it – and they do, they always do – you can see things you never would’ve seen in the light.”

Update from 1/6/12

My new years resolution is to collect as many rubber duckies and aids ribbons as I can. I also want to get my permit. 

Update from 1/23/12

My favorite part of Camp Kindle is getting to meet new people, catch up with the one’s I’ve already met, listening to the kids share their stories and being able to overcome their fears! Of course there’s also the food and… well I’ll stop there.