As I begin writing these lines, I want to start by saying that I’m not sitting in front of a computer. I just left work, and as I walk home, I opened a new file on the Google Docs app and started dictating this post into my phone using my earphones’ microphone.

I always knew I could do something like this, but I had never tried it before. Maybe this shows that I’m getting older and starting to fall a little behind on technology, right?

​​I’ve been dreaming about this for a long time. I finally did it. It feels both relieving and exciting. I hope this first article marks a good beginning and that I can keep the momentum going.

So, what should the first post on a personal blog be about? What topics should it cover, and how should it connect everything together? For some time, I’ve been pondering this question, and here’s my answer: I should start by introducing myself, who I am, what I do, where I am now, and how I see the future. In other words: past, present, and future.

I was born on October 15, 1991, in the early hours of a Tuesday morning, in Çorlu, Tekirdağ’s most crowded and industrial city, through a difficult cesarean operation my mother went through at a public hospital.

I still remember the streets where I spent my childhood. There was no internet or smartphones back then… but we had plenty of time. Our biggest joy was playing in the neighborhood. Football matches with friends, marble games, card tossing, intense arcade battles, football card swaps, or simple but fun games we made up with stones on the sidewalk… These were some of the best memories of my childhood. Maybe those dusty streets were the first to shape who I am today.

That may have been the most fun time of my life… but it was short-lived. At the age of six, I started my education journey by going to kindergarten in my orange smock. That colorful but temporary start was replaced a year later with a blue smock and a more serious world: primary school.

Looking back now, I can clearly see how that innocent beginning slowly pushed me into a race. Learning new things was great, of course, but everything being taught in a competitive environment, grades, comparisons, contests… Yes, learning was fun for me, but I have to admit it was also challenging.

Then came primary school. Crowded classrooms, three kids squeezed into one desk… Everyone rushing in to grab the front seats when the door opened… That’s my clearest memory of those first days.
Two years later, my parents thought the school wasn’t right for me and transferred me to a new one. It was quieter, less crowded, and had better resources than the previous school.
I studied there for six years. Countless lessons, exams, activities, games, and plays passed by in a flash.

Then came the first big turning point of my life: high school.
I passed an exam and got into a school in Edirne. That meant leaving my family at 14 and living in a student dorm in another city. This was probably the period that truly shaped my ability to stand on my own.
I was in the school choir for four years. I started with guitar, then moved on to bass guitar. Music drew me in completely, being on stage, playing together, feeling the power of sound and rhythm… It wasn’t just a hobby anymore, it became a way to express myself.

I joined the theater club for a while, got on stage, memorized lines, and received applause. Stepping into different roles and living other lives felt strange but thrilling.
For a short time, I even played the drums. Keeping rhythm and carrying that energy… No matter what I did, I always ended up on stage somehow.

I performed many times at school events, ceremonies, and music nights. The excitement I felt backstage always turned into an indescribable confidence the moment I stepped on stage.

After high school came the second major turning point of my life: studying Chemistry at Ege University.
After Edirne, I moved to İzmir. A brand-new city, unfamiliar faces, a completely different environment… It wasn’t easy, but it was exciting.

I spent my university years in the Bornova district of İzmir. For five years, the streets of this neighborhood, the cafés, bars, and live music venues in Küçükpark became my world.
After graduation, it was time to step into the “real” working life. I moved to Istanbul and began my professional career.

But honestly, working wasn’t something new to me. My first work experience was when I was about 6 or 7, selling potatoes and onions at my uncle’s market stall. That’s where I first learned the value of money and hard work.

Starting in third grade, I began working as an apprentice at a local pharmacy every holiday. The pocket money might have been small, but the sense of responsibility it gave me was huge.
While holidays meant rest for many, for me they were an opportunity to learn and create.

In high school, I didn’t just sit idle either. I joined a guitar course at the Edirne Public Education Center and soon started teaching some of the students my instructor didn’t have time for.
During the summers, I worked seasonal jobs, one year at an ice cream shop, another year as a cashier in a market. I took advantage of every opportunity that came my way.

The same pace continued through university. I played bass guitar and made money performing. I also worked at a café, in a music studio, and as a sound technician in a bar. Later, I got a job at Turkcell Superonline as a field sales agent. That was one of my first serious experiences in a corporate setting.

There was never a real “idle” moment in my life. I was always working, producing, learning. Many of the things I have today were built on the foundation laid during those early years.

Soon after moving to Istanbul, my entrepreneurial journey began. A university friend and I started making handmade boutique soaps at home and selling them online. At that time, e-commerce was booming in the country, and we were inspired. The soaps I made in the kitchen with my own resources quickly reached many people. But the challenges of production, rising costs, and sustainability issues pushed us to seek a new direction.

This time, we decided not to produce but to source wholesale products and sell them online, using a dropshipping model. Our first product was baby diapers. We received dozens of orders right after posting the ad. But then we learned our supplier was out of stock. Desperate, I visited every market, even contacted the regional distributor, but since the product was only sold by the pallet, we couldn’t fulfill small orders. In the end, I managed to find limited stock at a market in Çorlu, pieced together enough units from different places, and fulfilled the orders. That experience taught me firsthand how critical supply chain management is.

After that, we decided to continue with products we could control more easily. Around that time, my partner’s older brother founded a new software company. They developed software that integrated e-commerce sites, accounting programs, and marketplaces. I joined the startup and took charge of sales and marketing. When we started, we only had a few customers. Within four years, we grew to thousands of clients, expanded our team significantly, and I took on additional responsibilities like digital marketing consulting.

Four years passed like a dream. That small team we started with became a big family. But as with everything in life, that chapter also came to an end. I needed new challenges, a fresh breath. I left the company and began a new journey.

After four years, I realized that we had begun to follow different visions, so I accepted a new offer and took on the role of E-Commerce Manager at another company. When I started, the company was receiving only around 5–10 orders per day. During the first two years, through intensive work, we expanded the product range, restructured the marketing strategies, and diversified our sales platforms. As a result, we managed to increase daily orders to around 200–300.

Following a successful investment round, the company began to grow rapidly. I continued working there for another two years, and our daily order volume exceeded 1,000. However, after a while, I felt that I no longer aligned with the management on certain issues, and I decided to part ways.

After a short period of consulting work, I made a radical decision, to take a break and see the world. I started working on a cruise ship. For about four months, I sailed across the Mediterranean. I spent most of my time in Italy, and also explored the coasts of Spain and France. This journey provided me with a deep sense of renewal, both physically and mentally.

After the cruise adventure, I contacted a company in Lisbon that was hiring, upon a friend’s recommendation. Shortly after, I began my new life in Portugal.

I’ve now been living in Lisbon for about five months. Building a life in a new country turned out to be more challenging than I had anticipated. The language, the culture, the daily habits, facing each of them made me rediscover myself. But instead of getting lost in these challenges, I’ve been adapting, growing, and learning with each step.

During this time, I focused on personal development. I completed the Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate. Thanks to Meta Blueprint trainings, I updated my knowledge in digital marketing. Currently, I’m preparing for the Meta Marketing Science Certification. I’m also continuing my Microsoft Power BI training, strengthening my skills in data-driven decision-making, visualization, and analysis.

I truly believe that all these developments are guiding me in the right direction.

I know this first article had a bit of an autobiographical tone. In the upcoming posts, I’ll focus more on technical topics, industry insights, and my professional experiences.

Thank you for taking the time to read and accompany me through these lines.

See you soon.