I was born in California, but most of my childhood (and adulthood) was spent in Turkiye after we moved there when I was seven. My parents divorced not long after, and life was... a bit chaotic between two parents who couldn't hold their shit - still fighting over the phone... But despite everything, I was lucky to have an amazing dad.

He taught me everything - how to cook, clean, and care for myself... How to love people fully and show up for others, especially those going through hardship. He had the biggest heart, and I carry so much of who I am today because of him.

I lost him when I was 14. After that, I had to grow up fast - I learned to rely on myself, build my own safety, and find my way through the world. It wasn't always graceful, but it shaped me.

After high school, I floated for a while, unsure of what came next. I’d gone through some traumatic events, things that shook my trust in people and left me feeling isolated and untethered. I wasn’t okay for a long time and didn’t know how to move forward. I stopped dreaming. I stopped believing in myself. But life has a funny way of putting you exactly where you need to be, even when you can’t see it yet.

Then, one day, one of my friends, Irem, a soprano at the conservatory, dragged me out of my room to tag along on her portrait session with a well-known Turkish photographer. I didn't want to go, but she insisted. I'm so glad she was persistent and didn't give in because that day changed the course of my life.

After the shoot, the photographer looked at me and asked if I wanted to model for him. I didn't really get it, why me? But I said yes. A few weeks later, we did the shoot, and after the session, I asked if I could assist him on his shoots, free of charge. I wasn't trying to become a photographer, I just needed something - anything - to pull me out of the fog. But then he told me I didn't have a bone in my body to be a photographer.