Last Updated on July 29, 2021 by Nancy Carteron, MD, FACR
Being smack dab in the middle of hurricane season and all, I thought it’d be fun to parlay my update for The STI Project into a little bit of weather chatter.
Brilliant, right?!?!
Maybe not.
However, it’s entertaining for the moment, so, I’m going with it.
As always, I’ve plenty of things to share with everyone, and almost everything is absolutely spectacular! In lieu of keeping my post upbeat, I’ll share with you the “bout of rain” we had just recently first and then move on to “sunnier” news.
The STI Project Recently Lost a New Friend
On August 15th, Mirvan Ereon (his pen name) succumbed to HIV/AIDS.
I met Mirvan through twitter and spent a significant amount of time chatting with him and getting to know the bright person I’ll always remember him to be before the disease started taking a hold of his spirits and his clarity.
This was a great loss for more than just the HIV+ community as Mirvan was an inspiration.
His overall approach to the disease and his subsequent view on life was nothing short of beautiful and should be a forever reminder that life is far too short to live it unhappily, without hope, and scared.
The STI Project Wins An Award!
Earlier this month, we were notified that The STI Project had received a prestigious award from healthline.com – a website focusing on original content which is produced by highly skilled writers or experienced health professionals who are adept at researching a variety of topics and delivering concise, accurate, and engaging information in an easy-to-understand format.
Voted one of the best STD & HIV Blogs of 2012, here’s what HealthLine had to say about us:
‘Bold, brave, and unafraid, The STI Project is about breaking down stigma and correcting misunderstanding about STDs. Started and run by Jenelle Marie, this project is devoted to spreading knowledge like an infection – teaching people that STDs do not have to keep people from achieving their dreams.
From helping readers correctly identify STD symptoms to promoting awareness, this site has no shame in its game. It is also open to other contributors – bloggers and photographers – and welcomes individual stories of others’ experiences with STDs. Stop by and help this A+ Project grow!’
How epic and amazing is that?!?!?!?
After losing a dear friend, this was precisely what we needed to lift our spirits!
Thank you, HealthLine, we are honored!
- This post shows the cool badge we get to use and gives some additional information about HealthLine and why this award is truly an incredible compliment!
Our First EVER TV Interview
At the very beginning of the month, The STI Project was asked to interview on WZZM 13’s Take Five & Company.
This was our first ever TV appearance, and boy was I geeked!!!
For the first time in front of a camera, I think I did pretty well. I’m always my very worst critic, of course, but I wouldn’t take back the experience for the world. This just means I’ll be even that much better when I’m interviewed on the Today Show!! *hint hint Today Show* 😉
One of these days, right??!?!?
You can watch my 5 minute long interview here (https://www.wzzm13.com/life/local/programming/take_five/220357/42/STD-Project) – 5 minutes seemed to go by sooo fast; unfortunately, their sharing tool doesn’t allow me to embed the video. Sorry, guys. 🙂
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Over 100,000 Views in Less than 5 Months Since Inception
This HAS to be some kind of blogging record!!
I mean, really.
We launched in April of 2012 to coincide with STD Awareness Month and we’ve already received more than 100,000 views!!!
What this means is there are SOOO many people out there seeking information about STIs/STDs and wanting to hear stories about other people living with STIs! It’s quite baffling to me, because we are not even on the top 5 pages of Google’s search engines yet. So, people are skimming through all the other stuff and finding us.
Can you imagine how many people we’ll reach once we’re on those top pages?!?!
ASTOUNDING.
Newest STI Interviews
Don’t forget to check out our most recent two STI Interviews (they just happen to both be about genital herpes, but they are certainly not always just about herpes in particular).
What’s great about these is they are mostly random, submitted by people I do not know, and are written entirely by the individual telling their story.
I’ve received such positive and touching responses as a result of these interviews – from the interviewees and readers alike – and I’m always delighted when I receive another in my inbox!
Does this inspire you to begin healing by sharing your story, or maybe you just want to help others feel like they are not alone? You can use this template to share your story any time!
Upcoming Awesomeness
Just a little teaser for you on what’s coming up in the land of all things STI/STD! (Yeah, my friends and family love it when I say that, everything I do is STI-related it seems…. I like to think of myself as ‘the Carrie Bradshaw of STIs’! It has a certain ring to it, I think.)
- Hepatitis Summit – Stay tuned for lots of info on all things Hepatitis
- Another award nomination – cross your fingers we’re picked for the final round – the more awards = awareness > stigma!
- Sexposure panel with Michigan State University – really looking forward to this – stay tuned for links
