Ever since I started to understand what I am capable of doing, I have never given up on playing piano. There were times, I couldn't find my concentration, but I always learned to give time to myself. Like everyone else who lives in this world, the quarantine was not the best time I have ever had. There were times I tried to ignore the fact that we cannot go out or having the good times of being a teenager was getting skipped, talking about almost being at the end of teenage and mature at the same time. My ambition definitely was music. It does not matter which way you are interacting with your art, but my style was actually having the first time in my life just focusing on piano. I finished pieces just by myself and realized that I am in this second phase, in other words, I call my alone journey with piano. Of course, it was not a choice that people had to find things to do in those really free time instead of saying staying alone. To keep our bodies normal, we had to either starting home workouts or gaining weight. And I would be proud to say, I kept my mind without having any anxiety by playing piano. My piano was my best doctor during quarantine. To be honest, I have never planned a future depending on the music, but I always know that if I fail one day about the future I am planning on, I can always come to my home, music.

If I name her as my favorite, it will be a very light compliment to make because she has a very big influence on my life. Canan Dagdeviren is an excellent scientist who inspired me about who I want to become in the future. She is the best idol I can have, and she showed what women are capable of.

There are a couple of factors behind why I chose neuroscience. The first is my role model, Canan Dagdeviren. Her journey started by coming to the US from Turkey. She is a researcher at MIT Media Lab, and whenever she comes back to Turkey, she finds the time to visit high schools to talk about her life and her work. The fundamental reason for telling her life to various communities was to inspire people; it was also to show people that nothing is impossible. Once she said, “When I talked about my pacemaker that works by piezoelectricity, they called me a crazy Turkish lady. After concretely showing my project, they understood that I was an ordinary person.” She became my inspiration, both for her dedication to her field and for the subject of her projects. I can’t imagine how many people she impressed, but I know that she reached her goal. When I had a chance to meet her face to face, I remember how excited I was, and how lucky I felt. I have always thought that I was a dreamer, but she made me realize how attainable my dreams were. She influenced me not only by her field of research, but also by her endeavors to share scientific knowledge with young students, and empowering especially female students to pursue careers in science. Meeting with her changed my life. I understood how scientific knowledge has significance in our lives. I also want to be a scientist, and give back to my community at least as much as she does. Wanting to be just like Dr. Dagdeviren, I was drawn to neuroscience because of my cousin. She has Niemann-Pick disease type C. NPC is a rare and degenerative genetic disorder. The early diagnosis comes with a low life expectancy. The progression of NPC can be slowed down with a single medication, but individuals with NPC can rarely be cured. Also, the medication is not available for everyone. This is the major reason why I am interested in neurobiological research. The relations between and age differentials among my relatives are some of my quirks. The not-so-quirky reasons behind and consequences of these guide me towards my research interest. I do not share or cannot share the values of the community I grew up in regarding endogamy, child-brides, and I would like to contribute to the research, diagnosis, and treatment of neurological diseases/disorders related to endogamy if not inbreeding, in the future.

I grew up in the Hatay, Turkey, known for its multicultural landscape, where one values and respects different lifestyles. Yet, Hatay is burdened with poverty and unequal educational opportunities. During my sophomore-junior year, my friends and I helped a village primary school to build a library. Unable to fix the whole system, we did whatever we could. We held food fairs and sold Turkish food after school. With the funds, we ordered library shelves, books, and a table to turn an abandoned room into a student activity space. Seeing smiles in the children’s eyes was something I can never forget.