Who I am? Let’s find out together, shall we? 

My name is Buket Karaman, I am 23 years old and still haven’t figured out what the hell I am doing with my life. I was born in Germany and had a great childhood, at least that was what I thought. You have to know that I was so damn shy about everything. I could literally not speak to any stranger, not even a waitress, not a cashier, I couldn’t even ask where the toilets in a shopping mall were. The worst part of being extremely shy is probably going to a school where you have to talk in class. THE. WORST. Everything is just fine until a teacher randomly thinks “Oh let’s ask Buket something and let her go through hell!”. At that moment, my heart starts to beat faster, I can’t think, I can’t breathe, my face turns into a tomato, I sweat and can’t bring out a single word, even if I know the answer. I don’t know what I thought would happen. Major lack of self-confidence. Better said; no evidence of confidence at all. Well, that went on and on until I eventually moved to Turkey. 

I was 16 when I packed my bags, left my parents and my brother and moved to my grandparents in Ankara. I have to admit that it was one of the best decisions I had ever made that far. Because I was practically on my own. Imagine a damn shy girl leaving her comfort zone and moving to another country? Man, I had balls. Sure my grandparents were supporting me in everything but phew; new school, new people, another language. Okay, my Turkish was good but not perfect. I was lucky that the people around me were really welcoming, warm and nice.