Writing this pretty late as I’m still battling from jetlag having landed back in the UK this week from my holiday to the USA. To say I had an amazing time would be an understatement, it was the trip of a life time and whilst pleased to be home I’m missing the cities I visited already.

It was returning from a holiday when I first fell ill almost four years ago on the way home from France, I don’t think I thought at the time of my diagnosis a few months later that I would be able to go on a holiday like this one ever again, I’m so glad to have proved myself wrong. Yet another example of living the normal life with HIV, this is the first break I’ve had of more than a week for as long as I remember, certainly well-earned and much needed!

It wasn’t the most relaxing trip with all three cities (Las Vegas, San Francisco and New York) having so much to offer there wasn’t much time to sit down and do nothing, especially the last two, definitely need to return in the future (which will be for the third time!) as there are still things I have not yet seen in each of them. Me and the boyfriend managed not to kill each other despite spending a lot more time together than normal which was a bonus and it was great sharing the experiences with someone special.

I’m hoping to feel refreshed by the weekend and ready to start my new job on Monday. This holiday has been in the planning for some time and although we only booked it earlier this year I am a little sad that it’s no longer going to be taking up some of my time or distracting me from other things.

It’s reset time though and I think it has been the perfect bridge to move forward on, I’ve had a busy and hectic few months since coming out about my HIV status last November but now I feel primed to continue to fight against stigma and issues that people like myself face. I’ve had some time to think about how I want to do this and I have a few ideas up my sleeve so just watch this space…!