Janet's dream may sound simple.

Janet may be a little more special than the most of us but just like all of us, she has a dream. Her dream may sound simple, but it’s not a simple feat for her; her dream is to graduate with a degree just like any other of her cousins.

Janet was born a normal child until she started having seizures when she turned 8 months old. Later, she was then diagnosed as epileptic at 1 and half years old and had to be on lifelong medication. At the later stage of her life, she developed learning difficulties that caused her to be bullied when she attended a normal school. This has caused her to develop bad habits like sleeping in class as she could not catch up with what was being taught. And she was hopeful that her peers would accept her and so she would buy them junk food and sweets just to get their acceptance and approval.

Things worsen when no school would accept her because of her condition. There was little awareness about special kids and people developed an irrational fear for Janet. As she was labelled as an OKU, normal schools rejected her and had to be enrolled in a school for OKU. Although things were better for Janet in the OKU school, she was not progressing much.

At the age of 16, Janet’s parents decided that something needed to be done for Janet’s education. They decided to home-school her which turned out to be a great turning point for Janet as she started to progress on her reading and writing. Despite all the challenges she faced throughout her childhood and teenage years, nothing could deter her from achieving her dream of graduating from university.

In the year 2011, Janet’s Cookies, Art and Handicraft House was set up to sell Janet’s paintings and cookies. With her relentless spirit, she opened her own retail store and is currently studying online for her Diploma in Small Business Management to continuously improve herself.

Last year, she had her international break at the Hidden Truths, The Mind Unraveled event in the USA. Her artwork was chosen to be exhibited and sold at this meaningful event. Through this event, Janet realized that she was not a lone warrior. There were many other epileptic patients who were fighting for her future just like her. She is now the Ambassador for Asia to help create awareness and education about Epilepsy through art!

The best of her is in her positive attitude, determined mind-set, and unwavering fighting spirit. Despite the extra challenges she had to overcome, she never once gave up. She has the determination, faith, hope and believes that as long as she doesn't give up she will be able to achieve her dream one day. Even though she has to work twice or thrice harder than a normal person, she doesn't mind all the hard work, and she knows that she has a future to work towards. Janet has come a long way against all odds and has given her best for her community and her dream. This is the best of her.