By Phillis Fears, Gulfport, MS Mississippi is the state that was slow to catch on to integration and interracial relationships. Mississippi is also behind economically and in access to health care. If more women living with HIV become leaders, then it would help the state and its residents decrease stigma against women living with HIV. Women hide in their homes or give up on life. We don’t need to wait another ten years to be accepted as normal citizens. If the key to life has been revealed to you, then it is important to mentor others. Positive women can become leaders to give hope for a prosperous and healthy long life. Positive women can become leaders to encourage others that they are just as important as the woman next to them. Positive women can become leaders to inspire others that life is as good as they make it. And last but not least, positive women can become leaders to demonstrate to others a healthy way of living. All it takes is for one person to step up, stand up, and speak out!