Friday, February 4, 2011
Pedro Changing his Life
On page 57, after Pedro graduated high school, he made a decision to lecture at schools, PTA meetings, colleges, churches, and to anyone who would listen about what it is like to live with HIV. He had the grades and ambition to go to college, but instead he changed his plans after contracting HIV. Why do you think he did so? And how would you change your plans if you had a life threatening disease?
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Pedro’s viewpoint went from looking toward his individual future and what he would do with it, to how he could make the biggest difference with the time he had left. He knew HIV/AIDS is preventable and knew that education was the key. He also wanted to deliver the message that people should be afraid of AIDS but do not need to be afraid of people with AIDS. He felt strongly that no one should or has to be where he was at. I think that losing his mother was a motivating factor in his drive and compassion. Experiencing his mother’s death and facing his own mortality brought to the forefront the preciousness of life. That is what facing death does to people. I have not faced death personally (wait- aren’t we ALL facing death?) but I have people in my life who have had/do have life threatening illnesses. It really becomes a time to focus on the important things, like family and doing things that make a positive contribution to the world, even if it is just in small ways.
ReplyDeleteI think that instead of feeling sorry for himself Pedro really came to terms that he was HIV positive and he could either sit around and do nothing or he could go out and get people educated about HIV/AIDS and the risk factors. I think that he wanted to save other people if he could. I would hope that if I had a life threatening disease that I would have the strength like Pedro to get out and educate people about it or help make a difference in someone's life.
ReplyDeleteI think when you know your life has a very narrow window, you probably reconsider your future in terms of what would be most valuable and also what you can give to others before you leave this world. Pedro made a brave decision and it is still obviously touching lives.
ReplyDeletePEDRO & ME DEEP QUESTION:
ReplyDeleteIn the novel Pedro & Me when Judd first hears from MTV that there might be an HIV positive person living in the house, and then when it is confirmed that he will be joining the Real World cast and there will be an HIV positive person in the house he tries to act cool, calm and fine with this, when in reality he is quite shaken and doesn’t know what to think. Do you think Judd’s initial reaction was something that the other members of the house also experienced when they were told about one of their roommates being HIV positive? How do you think you would have felt about moving into a house with someone who was HIV positive? Judd mentioned that he didn’t know very much about AIDS/HVI, if you were in Judd’s position what would you have done differently to educate yourself knowing you’d be living with someone with the disease for six months?
The other roommate were probably just as concerned as Judd due to all the misinformation about HIV/AIDs. If was one of the housemates, I would have been very concerned particularly because of the causal contact myth that was popular at the time. I probably would have consulted a doctor or sought out an organization that could give me the facts about HIV/AIDs in order to erase my fears of infection.
ReplyDelete