The relief I felt the moment I found out I couldn’t be with my crush — My relationship with my son’s dad lasted 12 years and ended about three years ago. Since then, until a few months ago, I didn’t consider looking for a new relationship. I was feeling depressed and had plenty of other issues to worry about. Less than a year ago I joined…

What to do when you are 100 % right — I was 1000 % right in this case. One of my best friends and I were setting up online tickets for a musical event. Our audience was not tech-friendly, so we were still going to sell a number of physical tickets the old way. We needed to decide the numbers…

Squat like a pro — When I first moved to New Zealand with my Kiwi partner, he introduced me to his old friend. Upon hearing that I’m Turkish, the friend asked me if I could squat. Excuse me? Yes, that was exactly what he was curious about. …

Why is it so hard to get feedback on your story ideas from working screenwriters? — Do you need help validating your story idea before you begin developing it? You might have noticed that it’s next to impossible to talk to screenwriters about your ideas. And I was one of them. I wrote drama series for Turkish national TV channels for over ten years. I never…

The best time to start exercising was 10 years ago. The next best time is today. — I never write about fitness, but I recently realized how important this is, so I wanted to share my new wisdom with you. I’ve been a couch potato more or less all my life. Now at the age of 50, I exercise every day. …

A discussion with a family member who “doesn’t play the pronoun game” — I didn’t even want to talk about this matter until she said “Trans women are gaslighting us by saying they are women.” This assertion gave my head a little spin. “So they are gaslighting us by saying who they are and how they feel. …

You need to be okay with failure to succeed. — Not just 10 years. I have been battling with eating habits since I was born. It’s not an exaggeration. When I was a baby, my eating regime was my mother’s biggest problem, even though my doctor had told her that I was healthy and didn’t need more food. She declared…

Get rid of your story and be free! — Growing up in Turkey, I was terrified of cats. My nickname was “Mouse.” My fear of cats was my identity. I had an origin story, too. A cat had stolen a little chick from our neighbor’s chicken coop and killed it. I don’t remember if I had actually witnessed the…

One idea is all you need — “Unless your campaign contains a big idea, it will pass like a ship in the night.” David Ogilvy, “Father of Advertising” “Save money, secure your future, and enjoy hassle-free banking with Bank X!” When I first started copywriting, my first instinct was to stuff many ideas into one headline. One…