Advice on Aging Well With HIV

Mark S. King, 51, Atlanta, Ga.; Diagnosed in 1985

I'm getting older. Thank God. Oh, wait. I'm getting older! That sucks. And those are my thoughts on aging with HIV. I know I live in a gay culture that fetishizes youth and looks and body image, and that's stressful enough -- that is, until I find a place of gratitude that reminds me that every single day is a gift that was denied to many of my close friends. I might still bemoan my wrinkles and my sags, but life still has lessons to teach me, perhaps about aging gracefully and nurturing a spiritual consciousness, and I'm quite willing to learn. But if life doesn't mind too much, I also have a new arm workout I'm dying to try.

Mark S. King is a longtime, outspoken HIV advocate and blogger for TheBody.com. Watch his videos and read his blog, My Fabulous Disease.