The AIDS Memorial Quilt

My favorite part of attending the AIDS Walk last weekend was viewing the AIDS Memorial Quilt. I did some research about the Quilt’s history and I was amazed at the many statistics regarding the size of the memorial Quilt. For example, although the Quilt has more than 91,000 names on it, this accounts for only 17.5% of all U.S. AIDS deaths. Additionally, not all the names on the quilt are deaths associated with people in the United States – many families from many different countries have made panels to remember their loved ones whom have died of AIDS. I was unaware that The AIDS Memorial Quilt was an international project. Being aware of this attribute of the Quilt really makes me see the Quilt as an item uniting people all across the world. The Quilt really shows the breadth of AIDS effects on the people of the world, not just people in our own country. I think The AIDS Memorial Quilt is a wonderful project and one that should be encouraged and continued by all. Even now, AIDS awareness is still very important, whether it be to get people interested in research for finding a cure or to inform people about the transmission of HIV in order to stop the epidemic.

After viewing many of the AIDS Memorial Quilt panels that were on display last weekend at the AIDS Walk, one of them stood out to me. This panel was done in memory of Travis Dale Parsons. It depicted a map of the United States which had many different paths stitched into it. I assume that these paths represent journeys that Travis took in his lifetime. At the top of the panel it says “The purpose of life is not to reach the end – it’s the journey that counts” and at the bottom it reads “I would rather make my days count than count my many days”. All around the border of the panel friends and family have written messages in hearts that were stitched on. These messages talk about different memories that these friends and family had with Travis, perhaps on one of his many adventures. In addition to the written memories, pictures of Travis throughout his life are placed in their respective location on the map of the United States.

As a person who enjoys traveling, this panel really touched me. Although Travis’s family was no doubt crushed by his death, they chose to remember the great things he did in his life instead of remembering his struggle with AIDS. The memories that are written on the hearts add a very personalized touch to the quilt and demonstrate the real differences Travis made in the lives of others and the great memories that they will always have of him. The pictures of Travis also remind us that this panel represents a real person, not just another statistic. The quotes stitched into the panel also remind the rest of us that we should make every day count because we never know what the next day has to offer. I feel this is particularly true when it comes to HIV/AIDS because everyone is at risk for contracting this disease and nobody is safe. Many people do not even know they have HIV until weeks or months after they get it. With this in mind, everyone should be thankful of the life they are blessed with and we should all be living our days as if they were our last. The many personalized aspects of this panel made it my favorite one that I got to see last weekend. I think that everyone wants to be remembered by the great things they did in their lifetime and the fond memories that other people have of them in the prime of their life. I feel that Travis’s friends and family really captured his life in this quilt the way that he would have wanted them to.