The Worst Job Interview (published 2014, revised 2025)

In 2006, my resume included the following:

• High School English Teacher

• Middle School English Teacher

• Campus Teacher of the Year

• Writing Workshop presenter

• ELA Department Chair

• Graduated Magna Cum Laude

But in 2013, I had brain surgery.

Turns out that my brain (which used to function fairly well) has a few kinks in it.

In 2006, smack dab in the middle of an important job interview, I “zoned out”, and the next thing I knew, EMS was in the interview room with me trying to figure out what the hell was happening.

You see, in the middle of that job interview, my words stopped making sense, and I grabbed my purse, pulled pictures of my niece and nephew out of my wallet, spread those pictures out on the table, and started showing them to my interviewers. Well, at least, that’s what the interviewers told me. You see, I don't remember any of that. Nothing at all.

Up until that day, my only understanding of a seizure was that it might cause people to fall on the floor, writhe, and bite their tongues, but I was so wrong. So incredibly wrong.

On that lovely spring day in 2006, my life changed in a way that both pissed me off and terrified me. The 'naming' took several months, various doctor visits, and way too many medical tests, but I was eventually diagnosed as having complex/partial seizures originating from the hippocampus in my left temporal lobe.

Left Temporal Lobe:

It's now been 19 years since my first seizure and nearly 12 years since I had brain surgery. Now that I'm a retired school counselor, I think I have time to write about this journey and so much more. There have been good times, bad times and lots of in-between times. Hopefully, my feelings and experiences will connect with those of you who deal with chronic health issues while still trying to live independently.

*The original version of this story was posted several years ago in my Southern Hair & Seizures Blog.