Category: Uncategorized

How do you butter your bread?

December 2024

Today, I had the chance to chat with one of our Social Studies teachers, Michael Dickerson. He recently started hosting a series of table conversations during his free periods at school. He mentioned that some days he plans to invite guest speakers to join him, while on others, he’ll simply sit and chat with students about social studies and life in general.

Our conversation drifted toward senior year, college applications, and future plans. Amidst the stacks of social studies books on his table, I noticed a collection of Dr. Seuss books. Curious, I asked him about them.

He explained that Dr. Seuss often incorporates social lessons into his whimsical rhymes, crafting stories that entertain while teaching important messages. He handed me The Butter Battle Book to read, promising it would be worth my time.

What can I say? I really enjoyed it. The book is an allegory of the Cold War, illustrating the senseless escalation of a conflict between two groups over something as trivial as how they butter their bread. It depicts an absurd arms race that spirals toward inevitable destruction, with Zooks and Yooks divided by a wall and endlessly inventing more destructive devices.

It left me thinking—why don’t we make every politician read this book?

Making New Waves

December 2024

I’ve always been drawn to the water—whether it’s rowing, swimming, snorkeling, or even just relaxing in a tub. According to my parents, my first swimming adventure was at 7 months old in the Aegean Sea, and judging by the picture of me snorkeling at age 9, it’s clear that my love for the water has only grown.

During summers, my dad and I take this passion to another level. We swim 2.5 miles every day, starting with a jump into the sea, swimming to the next town, stopping for a quick breakfast, and then swimming back to our apartment. It’s become a tradition that combines endurance, bonding, and a deep appreciation for the open water.

This winter, I decided to push myself further. Instead of spending the season rowing indoors, I joined the swim team to try something new and challenge myself / make new waves. For the past three weeks, I’ve been practicing six days a week for three hours a day, enduring intensive drills that have tested my limits.

Today marked my first official swim meet. I raced in four freestyle events, finishing in the middle of the pack—3rd or 4th in each event. For my first time competing, I’m proud of how far I’ve come and excited to keep improving.

  • 50 meters free style
  • 100 meters free style
  • 4 x 50 meters relay
  • 4 x 100 meters relay

Driving a manual car :)

Having Turkish parents and traveling frequently means I need to learn how to drive a manual car.

The difference between manual and automatic transmissions is like night and day. The real challenge with manual cars is getting them moving—balancing the clutch, shifting into gear, and then accelerating.

I recently came across an image that made me laugh, because it perfectly captured the experience of another driver navigating the same learning curve as me. I sometimes feel bad for the people behind me and wish I could drive like the car was an automatic, but I’m slowly getting better.

How to make stuffed grape leaves – Dolma

Summers mean Turkish cuisine. My grandmother is the master chef in our family. Everything she cooks is delicious. Dolma or Stuffed Grape Leaves is one of her specialties. We – me and my cousins – wanted her to teach us how to make it.

According to her it is as easy as 1-2-3. Although it is more like 1-2-3-4-5, with a few extra steps in between.

First, you prepare the filling – meat, rice, spices and salt.

Then, you start rolling the dolma: you flatten the leaf on a plate, trim the tough parts and the stem, place the filling in the middle, fold the sides in, and roll. To make sure it’s the right shape you also have to hold the dolma inside your palm and squeeze gently before placing in the pan. Rinse and repeat these steps.

When you are done, place a plate on top of the Dolmas inside the pan to apply pressure, put the lid on, and slow cook.

While I’ve become quite the expert at rolling dolma, I’m still clueless about the exact ingredients and measurements. My grandmother eyeballs everything, so her instructions were like: “A little of this. A pinch of that. Pour some. Cook till its done.”

In the end she just said, “it’s fine, come to Turkey whenever you want some.”

Summer Course Soccer Tournament

June 2023

Sabanci Summer Course Soccer Tournament.

This was a 4v4 tournament on a small field with no goalies. After hearing about the tournament hosted by the college with the prize of free Sabanci hoodies for first place me and my 3 friends instantly joined. While most of the people we were up against were older and much bigger than us we never gave up and managed to go the first match 7-3. This overwhelming win meant that we passed the semi-finals and went straight to the final match. However, this was a difficult match since not only were we facing people double our size, but the other team also had 6 players allowing them to sub out 2 at a time to rest. We tried our best and I had a lot of fun along the way but in the end we came second place.

Placement match score: 7-3
Final score: 8-12