But when your life is at stake, I think it's going to take more than being educated about deadly diseases to propel people into taking preventative action. The person must have a will to live that is so powerful that he or she can override social pressure or inconvenience and take the steps necessary to ensure self-preservation. That person must have a vision of the future that is so vivid and exciting that he or she can see beyond one sexual experience or teen-age relationship. Ultimately, I think what my friend lacked wasn't more lectures on the danger of HIV, although sex education is important and should be rigorously promoted. Education can only go so far in transforming the lives of people, and it is useless if the pupils are unwilling to put their knowledge into practice.
Life is so short.
It shouldn't take a close call to make us realize that. Soon enough, we will learn the results of his test. From that moment on, he will be either free of the terrifying thoughts that have plagued him over the holidays, or he will be burdened with a new struggle for survival. If his test results are negative, the year 2000 will grant him a new life that I hope he will see as a second chance. I hope he will have a newfound passion for living and will vow to fight for himself at every moment of the new century.