Gia

Today is World AIDS Day, and this made me ponder on the first time I became aware of the disease because of a model named Gia Carangi.

Even at the age of 7, I found Gia Carangi's beauty to be extraordinary. She had this innocent yet fierce type of face that's beguiling. I remember flipping through the pages of my mom's Cosmo looking for more photos of her. Years later, I found out that she died from AIDS. Her passing due to the disease baffled me because I honestly thought that it was exclusive to gay men. I mean, it was the 80s; pinning down the cause of the disease to gay men was the only 'truth' that was being spread around. It was even referred to as GRID {gay-related immune deficiency}. Now we know better, of course. 

What happened to her was, to say the least, tragic. She was once a very famous model {referred to as the first supermodel}, but all that went kaput due to her habitual drug use, and some say, her diva attitude. She had what most people would kill for: youth, good looks, great body, success, money, and, fame. I don't know why her life turned out the way it did; only she knows that. Nevertheless, it's a waste of a good life. 

Onward and Upward!