Over 65 million people suffer from epilepsy in the world today, that is about 1.2% of the population. I just so happen to be one of them. Hi, my name is Kim McCarthy and I am 16 years old. My epilepsy story began almost ten years ago when I was in second grade. It was May and I woke up for school around 6 AM. My mom was a little confused why I was up so early, but didn’t think much about it. I don’t remember anything that happened that day, but my mom said that I was sitting on my bed staring at the wall and the next thing she knew I started seizing and foaming out of my mouth. My mother was terrified, all she could do was yell for my siblings. My sister, Julia, was smart and sprinted to my neighbor who was a nurse. When she first saw me she knew exactly what was going on. Soon the paramedics arrived and put me on a stretcher to bring me to the hospital. The only thing I remember is the driver asking me if I wanted to hear the different types of sirens they had. I also remember bits and pieces of being in the hospital. I didn’t know it yet, but this event would change my life forever. I’ve been living with my seizures for more than half my life. And there were some times in the past years where I wish I didn’t have them. The first time was in third grade. My class and I were going on a field trip to a dinosaur exhibit and there was this room. I was so excited to walk through and see all of the interesting sights that laid ahead of me. But, I couldn’t go in because they didn’t want to risk me having a seizure. I remember feeling awful and defeated. Nothing could have ruined my day except for this news. In order to control my seizures I have to take Levetiracetam, otherwise known as Keppra. I am truly grateful for this medicine because without it I would die. However, there is this one side effect that terrified me. I’m not sure what it is called, but it was almost like I was in a dream and life wasn’t real. As if I could do whatever I want and nothing would happen. I felt like I was living outside a box. Words can’t describe how odd and surreal it was. There were some times when I cried because I was so scared and felt so abnormal. My parents would ask me to describe it, but I never could. Sometimes the feeling haunts me at random times like this one time when I was working at Chick-Fil-A filling up drinks. It just suddenly came upon me. Now that I am older it doesn't fill me with pure terror, but it is still weird. Usually, when it does happen, I act like everything is normal and it goes away eventually. I am very thankful for modern medicine, but some side effects are no joke. Overall, I have come a long way since my first seizure. I am currently in AP and honors classes in high school in hopes of graduating college with a Bachelor's degree in food science. I must admit I am truly blessed for having such amazing parents and an amazing neurologist. I will most likely live with this disease for the rest of my life. Which of course, is unfortunate, but there isn’t much I can do about it. I am thankful for this opportunity to share my story and it would be an honor to the Arlin Diaz Memorial Scholarship.