Medus

As a teenager, she lived with epilepsy and other health problems. Hospital appointments involved long journeys, and keeping up with school was difficult.

During a maths lesson, a friend asked whether she was all right. Her teacher responded with a public outburst, calling her a “freak” and a “distraction”. She was told she would not gain qualifications, should expect to work in fast food and should let go of her ambitions.

She needed help to manage her health and education, not humiliation in front of classmates. Being ill did not mean she had no ability or future.

She later earned an honours degree. Photography, baking and Dungeons & Dragons are parts of her life, along with ambitions she refused to abandon. She wants her portrait to show someone who continued towards those dreams, despite being told to make them smaller.