An Out of the Ordinary Journey to Acceptance and Success

By Angela Hall
Special to between us
Posted: July 1, 2002

When I was ten years old I was in a volleyball accident that left me with epilepsy. Growing up with epilepsy was very challenging and didn't get easier with age.

Angela, surrounded by the many
colors of her business.

Epilepsy is so misunderstood and has such a negative stigma attached to it that I decided very early on to put it in the shadows of my life and keep it there where nobody would ever know about it. The few times I did decide to share it with friends, I knew it was a mistake. My fifth grade teacher told my mother not to expect much from me since people with epilepsy could not amount to much.

Even though my parents were supportive and told me not to listen to what other people thought, I grew to have low self-esteem. I used to think of myself as a "freak."

One day around eight years ago, I decided to stop feeling sorry for myself and do something with my life, even though I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do.

I had always been creative and loved making crafts, so I thought maybe I could make various crafts and attend all of the local shows. So off I went to the craft stores and $1,000 later I started my big business venture, Out of the Ordinary Creations.

After a few weeks my house was filled with wreaths, baskets and Christmas ornaments. A good friend was so impressed that he arranged for me to have office space in the lobby of his office building from Thanksgiving until Christmas. So, off I went to downtown Rochester, New York to sell my wares.

I was so scared that nobody would buy anything, but to my surprise, I sold half of my inventory the first day. Every night I would stay up late working so I would have more to sell the next day. It was an incredible feeling. For the first time in my life I felt productive, but more importantly, I felt normal.

When the month was over, I spoke with the building manager and arranged to stay a few more months. After three months I signed a year lease and started buying inventory since keeping up with orders became difficult.

Ever since I was a child I've always loved weddings, so I decided to make a couple of bridal headpieces, favors and centerpieces to put in my store. I advertised them as "custom made." Before I knew it, orders started pouring in. Within one year I took over the office space next door, broke down the wall and had a gift shop on one side and a custom designed wedding accessory business on the other.

Angela and her husband, Steve,
both work hard with Out of the
Ordinary Creations.

I decorated the wedding side with netting and twinkle lights. One day a customer walked in and asked if I would decorate her wedding. That day changed my life. I started doing research and within six months I was planning weddings and events and decorating for them as well. Before I knew it five years had passed and I was really getting busy.

Being a wedding/event planner, I had a lot of responsibility and a great opportunity to prove to myself and the rest of the world that my fifth grade teacher was wrong.

Two years ago I realized that the wedding aspect of my business was taking over. I sold the gift shop and moved my office into a very large, established bridal store in the suburbs. Within a few months, wonderful opportunities began coming my way and I started to realize sweet success.

Last year I had the opportunity to attend the Epilepsy Foundation's Public Policy Institute in Washington, D.C. I went merely to appease my friends at my local Epilepsy Foundation because they had been so supportive with my business. I didn't want to let them down.

While I was there I met a lot of people who also had epilepsy. They all seemed so comfortable with who they were. I started to reflect on my life and realized that I was part of the problem. I had never accepted the fact that I had epilepsy, and if I wasn't comfortable with it, why should I expect other people to be? For the first time I no longer felt like a freak. I realized that I need to help educate the community.

I came home and one by one, as appropriate, I told all my clients the real reason I couldn't drive a car. Prior to this revelation I had been really creative: my car was in the shop, my husband had the car and so on. To my surprise, they were very understanding and supportive. They were okay with it because I was.

Although I finally came to terms with my epilepsy, as Out of the Ordinary Creations progressed it became more and more difficult not being able to drive. I found a solution for that problem, as well: I hired a driver. My life has truly been blessed.

I still have seizures from time to time, but I'm okay with that. I hope that someday my seizures will be completely under control, but if they never are, that's okay. I have accomplished what I set out to do, even with seizures, and I know that whatever my dreams may be, I can realize them with or without seizures.