According to the Epilepsy Foundation, about 34 million people live with epilepsy, there are approx.150,000 new cases each year and 1 in 26 Americans will develop the disorder at some point.

As someone who lives with epilepsy, it isn't easy to manage everyday life whether you're a child or an adult. Especially when your seizures aren't fully controlled. It can occur anywhere and anytime. It can happen when you're at school, work, or just pretty much anywhere in public. 

Having a seizure is a very scary and exhausting experience. One moment I'm fine and doing whatever then the next moment I can sometines feel an aura coming up and suddenly blackout or just blackout completely and then waking up to scrapes and bruises, my body feeling very weak for the next day or two, and I have no memory of what just happened. What feels like a minute to me has actually happened much longer. What makes this very scary for me is the fact that it has happened to me while walking to and from home, multiple times at school, and at work near equipment that could have hurt me. This has limited me from doing normal everyday tasks such as driving, taking a bubble bath, and even swimming in the pool without supervision.  

From my past experiences, I noticed that not a lot of people know what epilepsy is or what to do when someone near them is having a seizure. I think it is important to educate students, teachers, and staff at schools and also managers and employees at workplaces because: 

1. Knowing what to do can help the person suffering from the disorder,  those around them and you feel at ease. 
2. It can create a safer school and work environment and a less scary situation for everyone. 
3. A seizure can happen to just about anyone at any given time. 
4. It will allow you to become more open-minded to the disorder and understand how those suffering from it have to go through. 

We could start by creating how-to videos and have presentations for schools and workplaces to watch as a requirement and also hang up "seizure first-aid" posters in workplaces, school nurses clinics, and classrooms as well.