"There is always a sparkle to turn into a light in every success or failure, your perspective makes it visible to you"

Un poco más sobre mí 

I was born in Urfa, a city in the southeast of Turkey. My family moved to the north-western Turkey when I was six. Then at the age of 18, I moved by myself to Istanbul to study English language teaching at Bogazici University. Studying how native and foreign languages are learned from different perspectives opened an intriguing area of curiosity for me. My personal experience in learning foreign languages in different ways (such as starting to learn Italian as a third language at the age of 19 with an immersion experience as an exchange student, which did not happen for my second language English) inspired questions in my mind. I followed them using research methodologies later in my postgraduate studies. At the moment, I investigate how our minds are shaped with the presence of languages we learn, and how these patterns might look like in our lifespan.

As a child, I mostly wanted to become a teacher or a doctor working at her clinic.

Retos en la carrera investigadora

The need to fit in various fields (such as linguistics and psychology in my case) requires covering different skills and expertise, which feels frightening or exhausting at times. Leaving my comfort zone frequently creates an area of inner struggle for me at times. 

In relation to the above, I would have wanted to discover a sharing culture earlier in my path, which can be named as an obstacle. Also, discovering emotional and mental support networks a little late in my academic journey can be named as another obstacle. 

Fortalezas y apoyos

Being open to new experiences, keeping up the courage to face differences, trying to understand rather than underestimate them has been helpful.