In the first year of my schizophrenia onset, I was totally lost as I lost my candidature to my pharmacy degree and had a very dismissive doctor dismissing me and my condition as incurable.

I was lost and would only find something else to study. Then, as time went on, most of the functions I lost had a significant impact on my life and studies in games and animation. My GPA dropped below the admission baseline. I became aimless and anxious over my study and ways to improve. There was nobody in my school who would provide practical guidelines, let alone act helpfully, when I made a call for help.

Then I met my future lecturers at the university who understood my predicament. They told me about the program I wanted to be in and told me there were several paths, in spite of being turbulent, to get into university. This reignited me as I felt informed about the program I wanted to be in, and felt that my ability was validated.

I feel being validated despite illness was important as it provides a purpose for people with illnes to continue living.