People love to tell us how cool our jobs are. We get to travel, we meet celebrities, we know Tila Tequila. While that’s all true, it’s also important to note that the stress level can be high, traveling can be a pain, and every fantastic celebrity has a not-so-fantastic manager. Last week, however, was an exception.

A team of us went to Mexico City to attend the 2008 International AIDS Conference, a meeting of the world’s leading activists, scientists and politicians in the fight against HIV/AIDS. We took along Tara Bonistall, a young activist from Ohio who won a contest sponsored by MTV’s Think community on ItsYourSexLife.com.

There were no celebrities, no celebrity managers (!), no impatient young starlets. Instead, we spent our days with a group of well-meaning young activists as they shared their thoughts on the HIV/AIDS crisis with anyone who would listen. And until you’ve marched down the Paseo de la Reforma in the heart of Mexico City with 300 youth, protesting homophobia and the stigma against having HIV, you haven’t lived.

For a complete account of the convention, check out Tara’s blog.