May 2007 Archives

Okay I can admit it. This Steve Madden loving, stiletto wearing, pretty girl looked a little different a few years ago. She used to wear all the new Jordan’s, sweat suits, jersey’s, and even a few baseball hats, and this was an everyday thing, not just sometimes. Yes I was a tomboy. In high school I was not a cheerleader or majorette or anything near it. In fact, I was a captain of the basketball team and played every sport but golf and tennis. You could not pay me to wear heels, and I kept my hair in conrows straight to the back. OMG! This is embarrassing, but it’s the truth. Of course being an athletic had it perks-- like my leg strength prepared me for the stiletto pain and my arm strength for combing out my weave-- but even more important, the competitiveness has helped me with everyday life, including living with HIV. Not to mention that in high school, I had so many cute play brothers –you know, the ones the girls chased after in the school. Looking back all my MALE friends were the same. “Hey, Marv, can you get me hooked up with your friend.” I mean I was never a candidate. I was too boyish for them and too much like one of the guys. You hear the story about the captain of the football team and the cheerleader, not the girl’s basketball captain. Come on now. That does not even sound right. Now with my stilettos, a lot more self-esteem and confidence, I feel like I am now a CANDIDATE.

Before the lights, the reporters and the TV cameras and before the diagnosis, I was a little country girl who went by the nicknames of Marv, MB and sometimes Marvelous (the last, not so often.) In fact, in my eyes, I was far from being marvelous. At school, yeah, I was known, but at home I never felt good enough. I had a bad attitude, and I was constantly acting out in school. But I was a hell of an athlete. And when I found out I was positive, I went straight basketball mode. GAMETIME. I came up with a strategy. It was simple-- kick HIV’s ass. I did not care if I was the underdog or if HIV was undefeated for 5 years in a row. I knew that if I went in there with a winning attitude, I would come away with the victory. That simple. The only difference is that this time, I’m trying to be the coach and the player. Lol. Of course sometimes, I shoot the ball and I miss, and even though I am an all-net person, sometimes the ball rolls around the rim, but hey, it goes in eventually. Trust me, I know that this is a close game. But at the end of the 4th quarter (or overtime), I HAVE THE VICTORY. That is all that counts.
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