I developed epilepsy at ten but started painting when I was two. Therefore, a lot of my art is inspired by my condition, particularly how others view me.

The piece I have chosen to send you is a painting titled ‘Broken Wave,’ which reveals three different things.

First, it depicts how my life was shattered when I was first diagnosed with epilepsy. Second, how others suddenly perceived me as broken. And last, how the stigma of epilepsy presents a distorted image of me.

I would say epilepsy has greatly affected my life, although it has less to do with the seizures and more about the rules dictated by epilepsy. The restrictions placed on my life, from a legal and a sociological state, affected my life a lot more than just taking a handful of pills twice a day—it was the occasional suffocation I felt.

I’m originally from Brighton, England, and I was born in Watford, England 1992. I’ve lived in many different places, including Chicago, Slovakia, and Budapest, and I currently live in Orange County, California.