#BearsOfBaylor — “I’m majoring in neuroscience because I actually have epilepsy.”

“I’m majoring in neuroscience because I actually have epilepsy. Ever since the end of my sophomore year it starting getting a little worse, so I just wanted to learn more about the brain, learn more about neuroscience. Plus, it’s pretty new and not many people know much about the brain, so I wanted to just learn about it. That’s what I would’ve become — I wanted to become a neurologist if I ended up getting into med school and stuff, but I’m not doing med school anymore.

“It wasn’t until my last year here that it started getting really worse and really bad. It’s been difficult because it’s affected my classes, it’s affected my personal life, it’s affected my ability to drive, it’s affected a lot of things, and it’s really annoying and frustrating.

“Instead of being negative about it, I use it as a positive thing and I just keep moving forward and try to just do better in school. [I get] a lot more support from my family… Me and my family, we’re not very close. The seizures have helped me interact with them more, even immediate family members that I’m not close with, and I talk to them more. There was a time where I pushed people away, and now I don’t. I see that a better social life has made my life a lot better than it was before. So yeah, I’m pretty thankful for that.”

[Every Baylor Bear has a story; #BearsOfBaylor brings those stories to you, one by one. These stories, these people… This is our Baylor.]