Life is about the choices a person makes based on their circumstances. People make choices every day that can change their lives, for better or worse. In the story It Happened To Nancy, the main character falls in love with a man, named Collin, who takes away her ability to choose by raping her and giving her the HIV virus. A few weeks after Collin raped Nancy, she began to notice that she was becoming very ill and that Collin was nowhere to be found. Finally, she tells her mother that she needs to see a doctor. At the doctor's office, they perform a blood test on Nancy to see what's wrong with her. Surprisingly, the test shows that she is HIV positive. Nancy tells her mother that the boy she is seeing, Collin, raped her. In that moment, Nancy realizes that her entire life is now limited by the choices she can make. When she received her diagnosis, Nancy talks about how she felt like she couldn't go on living, emphasizing the fact that she knew she was going to die. HIV, also known as human immunodeficiency virus, is a virus that attacks immune system T cells throughout the body, leaving a person unable to fight disease and infection. HIV is transmitted through bodily fluids. Leslie J. Schoenfield, editor of Medicinenet's HIV article, writes: "HIV is present to varying degrees in the blood and genital secretions of virtually all people infected with HIV, whether they have or not. symptoms” (Schoenfield, 2011). . Symptoms of HIV can vary from person to person. In Nancy's case, she experienced flu-like symptoms very quickly. Leslie writes: "In the weeks following infection, many people will develop the various symptoms of a primary or acute infection, which characterize...... middle of paper ...... shared with all the world and in the hope of spreading his message about HIV. She also hopes people will understand that rape is a serious matter and should be reported immediately. Finally, she mentions that she hopes that one day HIV will be cured. Nancy taught me to be open-minded and to always treat people with respect, because whether you are HIV positive or not, you still have feelings, and everyone's feelings can be hurt by stupid and hurtful actions. Works Cited Anonymous, Teenager and Beatrice Sparks. (1994) It Happened to Nancy. New York, NY: Avon. Print. Schoenfield, Leslie J. (2011). Symptoms, causes and treatment of human immunodeficiency virus - What's next for preventing HIV transmission on MedicineNet. We bring you the knowledge of doctors. MedicineNet, Inc., available at http://Medicinenet.com