I finally moved into my new apartment. Although it was a challenge, I managed to move in. I only had couple days in my new apartment before I went back home to Istanbul, Turkey.

After staying more than a year in Chicago I came back home. I used to think of myself as someone who can disconnect from his culture easily, but after an intense year and the biggest change in my life, I realized how important it is to get some of your own culture from time to time. It is difficult to change your life all of a sudden. I feel much better since I was able to see  my friends and my family. I also started to see that is my experience in Chicago taught me so much about filmmaking and also about life. Now I can feel the difference. I started to look at things differently. I am more aware of everything that is happening around me. I try to think of possible scripts of anything that I hear and see.

Before I moved to Chicago, my weakest point was writing. Now after a year, I am much more motivated to write scripts. In fact, I am so excited about any ideas that I have. Columbia College Chicago was able to teach me how to look at life from a filmmaker’s point of view and now I know how to use my free time. More ideas, more stories, more scripts, more writing…

I came to Turkey with my producer and my friend, Urwa. Although she had already been to Turkey before, I was able to show her around. We spent a couple days in Istanbul first and then drove to Izmir. We went to historical sites like Ephesus and The Virgin Mary’s House. They made me think about the stories that were told thousands of years ago. I feel more prepared for the next year after this holiday. I hope I will have even more excitement about my thesis film when I get back to Chicago.

Me, my friend from Turkey, and Urwa.

Hagia Sophia, Istanbul—Turkey.

Me and my friend in Ephesus, Izmir, Turkey.

Originally, I was thinking of shooting my thesis film in Turkey. But I changed my mind and I decided to shoot my thesis film in Chicago. I have a couple reasons for this decision. First, I thought about the economic changes and also how much money I would be spending for the flight. I thought that I could spend that money on my film. Plus, I will have free equipment and very talented people who are willing to work for free in Chicago. I can always come back home and shoot a film, but I think my thesis is a great opportunity to shoot a good film in Chicago since I am already in the city. That means that I had to change my thesis, because my original idea was something that had to be shot in Turkey. I am still trying to develop different ideas and see which story that I feel the closest to. Luckily, Urwa and I are happy to work together and as our teachers always say, a good collaboration is everything. We have been trying to find the best idea that we can shoot.