I was born in Seattle, Washington in the US to an ESL Elementary School Teacher and a Turkish immigrant boat designer.

 

In my youth I obsessively drew and painted, filling dozens and dozens of sketchbooks. I spent my time running a popular online blog about graphic novels and Sci-fi shows I knew way too much about.

 

I tried to escape the pain of feeling like an outsider in every sense by running from concert to concert, and keeping my head buried in other universes through books, tv, and music. I had my art featured in the local art museum. I also enjoyed being the design editor of my schools newspaper, and I was writing articles about music I loved.  Our publication won national awards for best publication during my time contributing. 

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I believe I didn't fit in mainly because I felt incredibly deeply in a place and time that actively did everything it could to spur this.  And I couldn't stop myself from feeling, even though I briefly tried.

 

Though it was a culmination of many experiences,  when my best friend attempted suicide and nobody seemed to notice, I decided I would get as far away from the world I knew as I possibly could.

 

But I was still young, so the place I decided on was ironically New York City. 

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I envisioned myself studying design, illustrating children's books, and dropping out to sing in a hardcore rock band. 

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To fund this, I obsessed over perfect grades, and creating beautiful art,  and applied to hundreds of scholarships to raise $125,000 to attend school here. 

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Instead I found myself at the beginning of a spiritual journey. I earned my degree from Parsons School of Design with honors, though it felt like an afterthought to the other learning beginning to take place within me. I spent time irresponsibly partaking in visionary medicine constantly, as it forced me to feel what I pushed away from myself for so long.

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Unsurprisingly, while I enjoyed myself, I didn't find myself being  seen in such a quick, capitalistic, and though I didn't realize at the time- American culture.

 

In the midst of finishing my thesis, COVID hit NYC.

The shelves in the stores were completely empty, and I realized immediately what I already felt to be true.

 

This society and city was a house of cards, an illusion built upon illusion. Though still beautiful and valuable in its own right, I decided if I was to be a real artist, I would need to learn to feed myself.

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I moved to Asheville, North Carolina. I taught myself to read tarot and supported myself giving readings downtown at a local arts shop. I also worked at a health foods store which helped dissolve a bit of my ego.

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Upon this foundation, I eventually started learning to forage wild foods with a company called No Taste Like Home. After some time learning, I started facilitating the classes, and foraging most of my own food. 

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Eventually, I stumbled upon a craigslist ad that looked too good to be true. It was looking for someone to manage the gardens at a beautiful homestead 

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