Career/Schooling Struggles

[ehinOWHEN]

Hi Everyone,

I’d love to hear about your experiences whilst balancing your career and schooling or both. How did your condition impact your studies or career , and what strategies have you found helpful to cope with these challenges.

For me I was diagnosed whilst I was in school still, and at the start it was a struggle. I often found it hard to attend classes, because I was anxious about having an episode whilst in class.
More recently, my laptop got broken, while I was taking online data science courses, when I had an episode and broke it. I haven’t been able to fix or even get a new laptop ever since, which has made it practically impossible to continue my studies.
I know everyone has different experiences and different journeys. But I’d love your stories and I’d also appreciate any insights or tips on how you handled similar situations


—Owhen

 

[ehinOWHEN]

And Has anyone here ever had to put their career or studies on hold because of epilepsy? How did you manage that time, and what helped you get back on track?

I’d love to hear your experiences, as I know it’s not easy to make that kind of decision. For me, there have been moments when I had to take a step back from my studies, due to situations beyond my control as I explained earlier.

Any insights on how you navigated through similar situations would be really appreciated
—Owhen

 

[gina19]

I am ashamed to admit this, but I will.

I didn't make it through school. I mean, I tried my best, but eventually the decision was taken by teachers that they just couldn't support me in class.

There were people who understood, (I mentioned one in another thread on here), and definitely people who didn't- staff, sure, but it never went down well with the kids. In our class I was the only person who had epilepsy, but not in the entire school.. there were others.

The school nurse used to be terrible with it. never knew what to do.

Later, in a diferent place, I was taken aside and told that if I'm gonna keep having these seizures, I just can't be part of the class- and I remember telling that to a friend and she went absolutely mad.

I try to keep my school days behind me since it's... well, not really happy times

But i guess I'm happy to share in a safe space like this, because it's none judgemental.

I have put my studdies on hold several times, one year I was in hospital over christmas (and that was really hard, especially because I don't have family, but that is for another thread)

I also had another issue that paused them for 4 months (not related, and something I don't think I wish to discuss)

 

[ehinOWHEN]

Hi Gina,

Thank you so much for opening up and sharing your experience. it sounds like you’ve been through a lot, and I really appreciate your honesty. I can relate to a lot of what you said, especially about school not being the happiest of times. Epilepsy really made it difficult for me to balance everything; I barely graduated, and it was honestly a miracle I even made it through. My grades weren’t as good as I’d hoped, which was a hard pill to swallow.

I studied chemical engineering, but I realized after graduating that I wanted to pivot to data science, so I started taking online courses. It feels like I’m trying to catch up in a race where I’m already miles behind, and that can be exasperating at times. But I’m pushing through, and reading stories like yours gives me the strength to keep going.

It’s comforting to be able to talk about these things in a space where people understand. I’m glad you found that here too, and I’m sending you a lot of strength as you continue your journey.

 

[gina19]

It's funny how we hope for something as a kid, and then life has other ideas and we never get it

I wanted to be a computer engineer for the longest time, but ask me about computers and I am hopeless. I can just about turn one on, never mind repair one (I'm the one asking for the tech advice, not giving it!)

It's funny how we go to school, I mean most of what we learn we'll never use anyway. Just an observation I had.

 

[gina19]

One thing I do want to comment on as well is how.. depressing I guess is the word? it feels to miss out on things.

Example: I can remember sitting in the school hall while they gave out certificates to the kids for good work. My name was never called once and I sat there feeling really deflated.

I have also missed out on several school trips because I've not been well enough to go on them, and, perhaps the worst of the worst, is standing around in the playground while everyone else tells you how well they are doing and how they are on track for what ever colledge/ university they were aiming for.

I never got in to colledge. Am I disappointed?

Well, yes, because I missed out another load of experiences, but also.. well, I don't know. It would have been more of a struggle. School was hard, so imagine colledge

 

[ehinOWHEN]

One thing I do want to comment on as well is how.. depressing I guess is the word? it feels to miss out on things.

Example: I can remember sitting in the school hall while they gave out certificates to the kids for good work. My name was never called once and I sat there feeling really deflated.

I have also missed out on several school trips because I've not been well enough to go on them, and, perhaps the worst of the worst, is standing around in the playground while everyone else tells you how well they are doing and how they are on track for what ever colledge/ university they were aiming for.

I never got in to colledge. Am I disappointed?

Well, yes, because I missed out another load of experiences, but also.. well, I don't know. It would have been more of a struggle. School was hard, so imagine colledge

Sigh I really appreciate you sharing that. It’s clear how much missing out on those experiences affected you, and I can understand why it would feel deflating. And I'm so so sorry
But I also find it interesting how life’s struggles can sometimes lead us to unexpected passions.

I’m curious, did those moments of being on the sidelines, watching others go forward, have anything to do with your love for space? It’s such a vast and limitless realm. maybe it gave you something bigger to explore and think about. When did your fascination with space start?

 

[gina19]

Sigh I really appreciate you sharing that. It’s clear how much missing out on those experiences affected you, and I can understand why it would feel deflating. And I'm so so sorry
But I also find it interesting how life’s struggles can sometimes lead us to unexpected passions.

I’m curious, did those moments of being on the sidelines, watching others go forward, have anything to do with your love for space? It’s such a vast and limitless realm. maybe it gave you something bigger to explore and think about. When did your fascination with space start?

I weent to a museum.
It was an army museum, but this particular day they had an interview with an astronaut as well (not live in the museum, on a screen in one of the galleries)

He was talking about his time on the spacestation and his mission. I don't remember which one now, this was a few years ago.

It was from there, I think, because I had so many questions for him that he never was able to answer in the interview- and it just went from there. 1 question about space turned in to like 50

 

[gina19]

I don't remember ever really liking space at school, (I'm not sure we even did anything about it)

But I was so unfocused we could have done a lesson on it and it completely slipped my mind.

The only thing I liked doing at school was history

I used to love learning about henry the 8th. I still do

 

[ehinOWHEN]

I weent to a museum.
It was an army museum, but this particular day they had an interview with an astronaut as well (not live in the museum, on a screen in one of the galleries)

He was talking about his time on the spacestation and his mission. I don't remember which one now, this was a few years ago.

It was from there, I think, because I had so many questions for him that he never was able to answer in the interview- and it just went from there. 1 question about space turned in to like 50

That sounds like an incredible experience really It’s fascinating how one question can open the door to so many more about space. What were some of the questions you had that you wish he could have answered? If we were to have a conversation about space right now, what would you be interested in talking about with me?
My curiosity for space started a long time ago as well. I don't remember the fixed time if anything. But I was young. And as I grew older it grew as well. Nowadays I fill my curiosity watching videos on youtube and on Tiktok. Its so exciting honestly, wondering what's out there. And realizing how big the cosmos is, and there's a huge chance we're not alone, the expansion of our species and our tendency to be multiplanetry. Wow

 

[Sabbo]

Hello. For me, I sometimes feel that completing my BS in Economics & Information Systems in 1999 was a waste of time. About a year after I completed my degree, I tried to work (I was expecting my older son when I graduated). Unfortunately, I had severe complex partials two times after which my family felt it was best that I did not work. One day, I was at the local commuter train station when a seizure occurred. Thankfully another person was there to prevent me from tumbling onto the train tracks--I "came to" at the hospital, with my family there. Another time, I had a seizure when I exited my office building in downtown Chicago. Again, when I came out of the seizure, I was in the hospital with my family there.