A year before my birth my mum had a baby girl , her name was kitten. She had hydrocephalus but the Doctors did not diagnose this quick enough to save her, so when I was born on the 19th of December and I had both hydrocephalus and epilepsy my mum and dad almost gave up hope but the doctors were quick enough to recognize my condition. According to my mother my sister's soul lives on in me and mum says that she is my guardian angel.

This belief has been tested many times in the first few years of my life. As my shunt blocked at the age of one and I almost died and at this point the doctors said I would have severe brain damage. I would not be able to speak, to read, to write, and run but now, I am writing, drawing, I go to school and lead my life.

When I was two, I caught meningitis which shattered my mum and dad who got a divorce when I was three years and though my mum hated it, my dad started to drink and smoke and my mother hated it.

At the age of seven I started having tonic clonic seizures which at first caused me to have severe depression because I had no idea what was happening. I felt like killing myself. But slowly I learned that being afraid of the seizures made it worse so I relaxed and gradually I became happy again.

A blow hit me again when 10 years, just 5 weeks before my birthday, my father died from a heart attack and his last words to me were;'the boy that lived'; . The doctor told me his death was caused by his smoking and drinking and this really hurt me because I kept asking him to quit. At his funeral I read a poem and his mum, my grandma, came to me after and gave me his ring - his birth ring - and said,"not many people could read a poem at their dad's funeral. Not many people have the strength."

I just sat and cried I did not know what to do but I knew it was a honour, I knew he would be proud, I knew he had not left me he watched over me.

So since then I have lived I have fit in and I have been the best I can be.

When I was 12 I spent a year in Hong Kong and I learned to draw manga and as fate made it to pass, I was a patient at the hospital and I received a chocolate angel because it was Christmas. I gave it to the nurse who had looked after me. When I was 14 I spent a year in the USA and like when I was in Hong Kong I spent time in hospital.

Over the last 2 summers I have attended a course to improve my English and in this course 400 people from all over the world took part in the 2 years. I miss them and plan to visit them one day.

I have achieved 2 qualifications in art and I am doing 12 GCSE's, a far cry from what the doctors 'predicted' I would be.

Recently my girl friend dumped me because of my epilepsy because I can not be cured from it. She saw it as my fault.

One day, a man fell on to the train tracks after having a fit and I helped him off the tracks before the train came, I assisted and calmed him down but one thing that made me sad and has remained a scar in my heart is seeing the other people laugh as they pointed at us. From that day on, I decided to try and make a change to others' attitude towards epilepsy; Not through extremes or violence but tough words and art. I devote my heart to this cause not for myself but for everyone with epilepsy and I hope one day I will make a difference and make the world a better place because all that really fails is that people do not see each other as equals.

;True we are unique but people wqith epilepsy are just the same as others save for the condition that lasts for a fews seconds or minutes.

I've had epilepsy since I was about 6. It started with petit mal seizures. I took different medicines for it and eventually they subsided. My doctor thought I outgrew it, which happens to some children who have petit mal seizures. I had no signs of seizure activity for a few years, until I was in 7th grade. I was waiting at the top of a metal staircase, had a seizure, and cracked my head open on the way down the metal stairs. It was awful. It took everyone by surprise including myself. Thankfully I survived the whole thing, but had now developed grand mal seizures as a result of my injury.

My life had completely changed. Thankfully I've been blessed with an outstanding support system of family and friends that helped me through it. I went in and out of periods where I took a lot of medicine. I felt sick most of the time, experienced some hair loss, and was constantly tired. It was awful, but I eventually learned to adapt to my situation. I said to myself, "okay you have epilepsy, how are you going to deal with it?"

I had to make some life adjustments, but I've always led a very fulfilling life. My doctor told me I shouldn't go away to college, but I wouldn't let my epilepsy stop me from pursuing my dreams of going away. I ended up going away to a great college and got a degree in Elementary/Special education. Currently, I'm working as a special ed. teacher and I love it.

Having epilepsy has definitely been a challenge for me, but I've always met it and not let it define me. I get frustrated sometimes, but I always remind myself to not let hold me back from living my life. Having epilepsy is something I'm not ashamed of and anything I can do to help someone else with this condition is more than ok with me.