HIV Doesn’t Define Me

Gage Walker is the wolf leading the pack.

Life with HIV is all I have known since age 6. And through the years, I’ve learned a lot about people and life and society. The discrimination and misunderstanding surrounding HIV—even to this day—is troubling and makes me question the goodness of society. After years of living in self-hate and depression, I realized that I was always going to be me. But I wouldn’t let HIV define my life anymore.

What three adjectives best describe you?

Strong, hardworking, caring.

What is your greatest achievement?

Being healthy and successful.

What is your greatest regret?

Not coming to my realization sooner.

What keeps you up at night?

That I might not get married or have kids of my own.

If you could change one thing about living with HIV, what would it be?

The social stigma that HIV is still a plague.

What is the best advice you ever received?

Be you, and if they don’t like it, f*** them.

What person in the HIV/AIDS community do you most admire?

Myself. Everyone has their own burden to bear with HIV. To compare anyone would be pointless.

What drives you to do what you do?

The fact that I was brought here to become everything I dreamed of and more.

What is your motto?

“I am the wolf leading the pack.”

If you had to evacuate your house immediately, what is the one thing you would grab on the way out?

My safe.

If you could be any animal, what would you be? And why?

Wolf—my favorite animal and the closest representation of my inner spirit.