The day I was diagnosed with epilepsy was the day that changed my life forever. I was only 14 years old at the time, and couldn’t comprehend why this had happened to me. How was I suppose to live a normal teenage life with seizures? I let epilepsy define me and walked around with a dark shadow behind me. I lacked self confidence, I had no motivation, and I couldn’t picture a future for myself. At the time, I truly believed that I hated my life.
Finally, one day I woke up and decided I wasn’t going to let epilepsy control my life anymore. Having epilepsy wasn’t going to be an excuse for me not to follow my dreams. And for the first time, me and my shadow became one. My shadow was no longer going to be my enemy: my shadow was going to become my strength. It wasn’t easy and I crashed and burned a few times, but each time I got back up and grew stronger. I went on and received not one, but two college degrees. I received a bachelors degree in psychology and an associates degree in nursing. And here I am, today, living my dream as a registered neuroscience nurse Life with epilepsy still has it’s on going struggles, but I’ve learned how to embrace and learn from them. If I can do it, then ANYONE CAN!