Why did I study acting? Well, I was disabled and I needed something to distract me from the boredom of everyday life. So I looked around and found an arts programme, picked acting and ended up doing two plays at the Crescent Arts Centre. It was an experience that will always be a part of me.

Acting helped me build on my self-confidence to a point that after eight weeks I appeared on stage for the first time in my life. It was nerve-wracking! After that, I did another play where I took the main role.

In my second play I had to fall on stage and push a chair off the stage at the same time. Unfortunately, instead of pushing it I pulled it and this thick oak wooden chair came crashing down onto my head and knocked me out!

I studied part-time at the Crescent Arts Centre in Belfast. At the time I needed direction and substance in my life, and I needed to learn new skills too.

I looked for something that would not only stretch my mind but also my personality. This is why I decided on acting to really bring me out of my shell.

Prior to this I had only taken business-oriented classes. This was the first class that I took which was totally artistic. It has led me in a new direction, and from learning acting I have now taken up writing plays.

It gave me a whole new discipline in my life. It has also helped me to not feel so depressed about my epilepsy, which hasn't been in control since I took it thirteen years ago. So it has given me a more positive outlook.

The main difficulty in my course was keeping an eye on my stress levels while learning, as stress is one of the factors that induces my epileptic fits.

I would encourage anyone who feels lost in their life and needs direction to look for a course that will challenge you and give you new skills. Only you can put the effort into a course to get what you need out of it!