Scott Fried let a broad smile stretch across his face as he told UF students how to savor life. Fried, who has HIV, said life is sweeter when people learn to love themselves.
UF Hillel partnered with seven organizations to bring Scott Fried, an international public speaker, HIV educator and author, to Gainesville for a weekend.
Fried was one of the founding members of the AIDS support group that inspired the musical "Rent."
"All of Hillel's programs and activities are done for our students, and it was our students who requested Fried's visit to Gainesville," said Jeffrey Kaplan, Hillel program coordinator.
Fried spoke about HIV, sexuality and intimacy, among other topics, and he used his own experiences to speak to his audience.
"I live in those hard topics. I don't run from them," he said. "It's about telling the truth of how I feel."
Fried said he only expected to be a speaker for a few years, but the initiative kept growing and eventually took on a life of its own.
He tested positive for HIV when he was 24, and he said he began talking to teenagers with the hope that, in their collective memory, he would be remembered.
"I want to be remembered as an elegant man, quick to forgive, slow to get angry, and who listened to others with awaited tenderness," Fried said with tears in his eyes.
Fried joined UF Hillel for its Shabbat celebration Friday night, followed by a Kosher dinner and oneg, which means after-party. He also spoke at an event at Hillel on Thursday.
"He reminded us that you can always keep going," said Jordan Barrish, a 22-year-old public relations senior.
Fried discussed starting the AIDS support group in 1989 that inspired "Rent."
"It was bittersweet," he said. "I'm the only member that is still alive. That part was real. They were real people, and they were my friends."
UF Hillel is working on raising money to go on a service trip with Fried to Roatan, Honduras. A group of about 10 students will work with Fried to build a house for a family with HIV/AIDS.
"You know life is sweet. I don't need to remind you of that," Fried said to a group of students at the oneg. "I'm interested in where it hurts. That's where the work that I do is."
Fried talked about the difference between self-improvement and self-acceptance. He focused on the latter because he said he wants people to love and accept themselves.
"He makes people more comfortable to open up," Barrish said. "He is amazing. It just sums it up."
Scott Fried, a member of the AIDS support group that inspired the musical "Rent," talks about his experience with students at UF Hillel on Sunday.
