Wise Before Their Time

Time is of the essence. For many years, I dealt with that sentence in my business and suddenly it became a reality to me. Because time is of the essence. Every day has a new meaning for me.

If I had to live my life over again, I cannot think of anything that I would do different – and that includes contracting the illness. Because it has meant a lot of personal growth to me and I think the quality of one's life is superior to the quantity of it. To live a long and empty life is the last thing that I would want to suffer.

I find myself much less judgemental, because I've gotten to know the world a little bit better. On the other hand, I have become much more angry, because there is so much callousness that should not be around. I can get very outspoken to those who tread on people like ourselves, who desperately need help.

On an AIDS vigil in Washington DC a few years ago, I walked past the archives building. And there was inscribed in stone: 'Everlasting vigilance is the only road to liberty.' I thought what an odd thing to be engraved in stone. But the more I thought about it, all I wanted was what is on that stone – equal access to treatment, universal health care, no more discrimination, a little bit of love and a lot of compassion for all those that have a disease.