Sunday Letter

Is it possible for actions to be as effective as words? I doubt it. Then why do we always long for the other people to understand us through our actions, so miserably? Why do we hide behind our smiles, although we know that most of the time they only overshadow the pain? 

We love, we hate, we forgive, we forget, and we will be forgotten. We only exist in the minds of those we make contact with, that's why it cannot be argued that there's only one of each of us. Our desires, our looks, the way we think and the way we act differs from perception to perception. To live is to be observed, perceived, and understood (misunderstood as well) by our fellow beings. And there is a different me for all those whom I have a stand in their mind. For each and every person that knows me, I will be dead the day they forget me. Until then, parts of me will continue to live with them, the parts that only they saw in me. That's why we are all so unique, but there are also many of us.
And for me, the most interesting part is that, although we go through a lot of change in ourselves and we are aware of this process, we are so prone to stick with the image that we have in our heads when it comes to the other people. As Camus once wrote, "Just as dogs don't change character, men are dogs to one another." So is it possible to say that we die everytime we undergo a change? At least it is obvious that we can not claim that we are who we are thought to be, that's just deceiving. Then who are we? And when are we alive, anyway? 

Saturday Books: The Catcher in the Rye

The Catcher in the Rye is one of those books I looked forward to reading my whole life. But I always stood away from it as I gave so much importance to it.. I was just scared that it might not turn out to be as good as I imagined it to be, and I could get disappointed. And it's not even because I knew the story, I guess I just had high hopes because everyone seemed to suggest the book to eachother and chat about how amazing it is. Anyway. I just bought the book last week and started reading it immediately- and I couldn't even drop it off my hands! Overall I think it was a good book, but I feel like I have to review this book in 2 aspects: first of all, the value of the book (in my opinion) just as a novel, and second, Holden Caulfield and his story. 

When I was in highschool I was pretty much interested in experiencing different kinds of literature. I had to read some of the classics as they were class assignments but I never really liked the idea of being forced to read them. In fact, the obligation pushed me further from that kind of books. So in search of something different, first I found myself reading underground books, and later Charles Bukowski. Need I say how impressed I was? I was so used to reading official language everywhere until then, same word-patterns and metaphors everywhere, and when I started reading the underground books (the first one I read was Fight Club, no surprise) I was so shocked; at first I thought people wouldn't be comfortable if they knew how anarchical the language used in these books were but they could also manage to be so sincerely beautiful. That's why I often felt the need to hide the back covers of the books when I was reading them in public, and at night when I came back to my room I hid them behind the other books in my bookshelves. Briefly stated, the books I read at that time widened my viewpoint and I could feel there was a connection between me and the writers from our hearts. 

I didn't read any other works of J. D. Salinger yet, but as far as I am concerned, the Catcher in the Rye was the author's first novel and it was published in 1951. For the time it was published at least it wouldn't be wrong to say that it's a very original book. But for me, perhaps because I was already reading the underground books and Bukowski in particular, it didn't seem very unique. And unfortunately, it didn't even stand out between the books that I read and feel that shares the same language and technique. Structurally speaking, it was very well depicted and warm-language, but I don't feel like I might want to read it again. 

What I found more interesting about the book is the story of Holden Caulfield, a teenager doubting adulthood and valueing childhood in contrast. That is also what being a 'catcher in the rye' is about; Holden wants to prevent children from growing up, or as he calls it, falling from the cliff. I think many of us went through inner conflicts as he does when we were adolescents, that's why I think it is a book everyone can simply relate themselves to. And the language the book is written in is also very warm and welcoming. 

To sum up, although I'm not as impressed as I expected to be, I would suggest this book to everyone. Did you read The Catcher in the Rye too? If so, what do you think?

Rate: ✒✒✒✒ 4.0/5 

Saturday Books: La Princesse de Babylone

Bonjour bloggers et al. When I was in highschool, I've always dreamt of growing up to be an intellectual and to meet up people who would broaden my mind and inspire me with their thoughts. But that could not happen as I lost faith in people and refused to meet with more of them. I just became introverted and as a result of it, I also became insecure of myself. Now I often have thoughts of being such an empty and unnecessary person, with no talent or passion whatsoever. And every day seems to correct this idea as I don't take action to prove myself that it is wrong, or to change it. But until now, I've become sooo fed up with it and this morning I actually came across the idea of writing a blog series each week about the book I read within that week. I'm hoping that this blog series will help me be at peace with myself and make me realize that I can become the person I want to be.

The first book I want to write about is The Princess of Babylon by Voltaire. Before I start, I want to indicate that I am not really a full-time reader and that's why I only tend to read books that appeal to me and I feel excited about reading. Two weeks ago when I went to the bookstore I was marching between 'philosophy' and 'religion' shelves, reading the back cover and the first page of each and every book. When I came across The Princess of Babylon, it gave me the impression of a fairy tale not so isolated from the realities of our world. And this impression also continued throughout reading the book. 

In the story, Formosante (the princess of Babylon) and Amazan (a shepherd from an unknown land) travel the world, the geographies as we know today, to find and engage with each other. And throughout their travel, the author gives information about the societies they happen to pass. For me, that was the most interesting characteristic of the story. Because the book turned out to be a fairy tale set up for implicit criticism of the actual world on the grounds of animal cruelty and animal consumption, luxury addiction, power games, lust, and religion. Although I'm not sure, it occurred to me that at the end of the story Princess and Amazan lost their values as the features of the mankind that were being criticized throughout the book defeated them. 

Overall, I think it was a good experience to read this book as I became familiar with some mythological characters and I really enjoyed the way the story was being told as I could picture it with all details in front of my eyes. But the main theme was really vague for me and I can't really point out the ideas he's trying to deliver. So I think I might read it again after a while. 

Did you read any of Voltaire's books or The Princess of Babylon before? If so what do you think? 

Rate: ✒✒✒ 3.0/5                           

A Sneak Peek at the Cutest Street in Istanbul: Tahtalı Bostan Sokagı/Street

It's difficult being a student in university and finding time for myself. Most of the time I just feel too tired to step out the door so I just curl up on the couch and surf on the internet. However, both because it was my friend's birthday yesterday and because we've wanted to go there for a long time, we decided to grab a taxi and visit this little town called Kuzguncuk. After we had lunch on the seaside we randomly entered from a street which also became to be my favorite destination in Istanbul. The contrast between the buildings, the greenery and all of the colors.. And obviously, cats! Tahtalı Bostan St. was definitely a good choice and I look forward to go there more often. :)

Blog#1: Difficulties I Faced While Customizing My Blog & How I Got Through Them

Hello there! As a Tumblr-user-for-years, I thought I had just sufficient information about blogging and "coding" so I could start running my own thingy now. Soon enough I realized that I was very wrong. The main reason why I wanted to switch to Blogger was because I thought it's a more independent platform and I could do just whatever I want. So I think you can guess how disappointed I was when I was stuck with the basic blogger template and couldn't make any cool changes.

In this entry I will tell you about my attempts in order to stimulate my passion to blog by explaining how I customized my blog step by step. As a reminder, I want to tell you that I have no claim to be the best one out there to show you the way, or even a good one. It was just very frustrating for me when I first decided to join Blogger and saw how it was more complex than I thought, with unsufficiency of guidance thoughout the internet. So all I want to do is to help people who felt like me and show them they can do it, too.

STEP I: EXPLORE
That's true! First thing you might consider doing as soon as you create your new blog is to explore the Blogger system and get familiar with all the terms and the process. Go to your Blogger dashboard, you'll see a vertical section on the left hand. Here, you'll be able to preview your own blog and statistics, write new entries etc. But more importantly - at least for now - you'll see layout and template at the bottom of the section. First off all, whatever your template is going to be, you will need general infromation about the usage of the layout. On my blog I have a navigation-wrapper part, a top-social part, header, main part, and the sidebar. As time goes by, you can add more parts or remove the ones you have, it's all customizable! The main three parts, however, are the header, the main part, and the sidebar. To get the best use of your layout, you should know what gadgets are and what you can use them for. That's why you should click on one of the 'add gadget's and find out what they are meant to be, and see the widespread usage of gadgets. 

STEP II: HEADER
There are three reasons why I think header is just the most important visual part of a blog: first of all, whether you have a simple/basic or a paid template, you are going to have to attract the visitors, and header is just the right place to do it. Second, headers actually tell a lot about the blogger. For example I love the dusty colors as well as the joyful yellow, I love plants, and I'm an autumn person. Third, you can harmonize all the colors you are going to use on your blog according to the colors you have indicated in your header! Now, the question is, how are you going to make your header?
1. Get inspired! My suggestion is, visit your favorite bloggers and check out their headers. Is it minimalistic? Chaotic? Cute? Find out what changes you would do if you were in their shoes. Then go to Pinterest. Search for pictures, drawings or symbols you would like to indicate in your header. Don't forget to save them! You could also paint your own header and use it, but I'm not quite good at painting so I used a beautiful flower painting I found on Pinterest. 
2. Well you have a draft in your mind, but how are you actually going to indite it? As far as I can tell, there are 2 ways you can do it. You could either try to do something on your own or get help from someone! I did it myself, but there are artists out there on the internet painting personal headers for people, too. Check out Hannah for example, she's a very talented artist who also owns a shop called 'The Lazy Pencil Co.'. As for what I did, though, I used PicMonkey. This is an online website (free) where you can edit your pictures, edit others' pictures, or draw pictures. First of all, click 'collage' and choose the pictures you saved. But the important thing here is you have you change the size of your canvas. I wasn't sure about mine, but I knew it's supposed to be horizontal, so I made it 1100x300. After you save the basic canvas in your computer, go back to the home page of PicMonkey and pick 'design'. Again, I wasn't sure what the size of my canvas should be, but I knew it should be horizontal, so I picked 'Facebook cover' and it worked just well! (Later I found out that you can learn the size of your header by going to 'template' on your blogger dahsboard and then 'customize') Once you pick your canvas size on PicMonkey, click 'open' at the top of the page and find the collage you have just made. On the left, you will find the basic editing tools. You can change the colors, apply effects, and add text. It's all up to you!
3. Well you saved the canvas in your computer, but how are you going to use it on your blog? First, go to your blogger dahsboard, and find 'layout' on the left. Once you click it, you'll see the layout outline of your blog. Go to header, and pick 'configure header'. Here, you can add the canvas you've been working on. And you can choose to replace the title of your blog with it, as I did, or you can prefer to keep both. Well, voila! That's all for the header. 

STEP III: TEMPLATE
I've first had this blog in late 2015, when I was just back from a 50-day-summer-holiday spent in the United Kingdom, and I was very tempted to write about my journey. But no matter how many hours I spent customizing my blog, I couldn't find any proper (free) templates and the ones I made by myself by developing the basic blogger template didn't satisfy me at all. One thing I can tell is that there are a lot of great & customizable templates if you are willing to pay for them, but it's the other way around for free ones. But because I've just started this blog, I wanted to keep it free as much as possible. So assuming you already know how to use the templates provided by blogger, I will tell you about downloading and using free templates you will find on the internet.
1. Where to find free templates for blogger? Unfortunately there are not many websites, and the ones you find will actually indicate the same templates! I found mine on cssauthor. You can check live demos of each template here, and download the ones you like. Once you click 'download', it will download an entire zip file on your computer. That's why you will have to click right on the file, and 'extract files..".
2. How to use the template on your blog? After you have extracted the zip file, go to your blogger dashboard, choose 'template' on the left, click on 'back up/restore' on the top right. First of all, in case you might have a problem with your brand new template, you might want to download full template before uploading the new one. I don't know if it really works because I haven't really done that, but they recommend you to do so. Second, you have to pick a file. So click on 'pick a file' (from the computer), find your zip file, open it, and select only the XML file. The type of this file should be 'XML Document'. Next step, upload it. Ta daa!
3. Once you have uploaded your template and you go back to template on the left hand of your blogger dashboard & try to customize it, you will realize you are not going to be able to customize it at all. In fact, you can't even change the color in most of the templates. That's why, if you are not an expert or something (like me), you should be very careful about the colors while picking the template, too. But always keep in mind that you can take help from the website you have downloaded your template, and in fact in the zip file you will find a Chrome HTML Document called 'documentation'. In case you want to learn more about customizing your free template or in case something goes wrong, feel free to check this doc!

STEP IV: SOCIAL ICONS
The template is ready, the header is just fine, and you know how to use gadgets. What is next? You want to direct your visitors to your other social media accounts, such as Instagram or Pinterest. The thing is, I knew I wanted to have personalized social icons before I even asked myself if I really had a lot of online accounts. I have a personal Tumblr account that I like to keep to myself, a Youtube account that I don't even use, a Linkedin account just for school.. So what's the usage of sharing all these unrelated accounts with my visitors? Now the only icons I have are Gmail, Instagram, and Pinterest. Here is how I added them on my blog.
1. First thing you should know about adding social icons on your blog is all is just an HTML process. Well, not all, you have to find the icons you want to use, too. You might use Pinterest or even Google images, it will just be okay. But here is what I did: after some research, I found this bucket of social media icons that contains very cute colors of each button. After I picked the ones I like, I opened a new tab on Chrome and went to my blogger dashboard. I went to layout section, and clicked 'add a gadget' on the sidebar. Now because it is all about HTML as I said, you should add the 'HTML/JavaScript' gadget. After you have done that, go back to the bucket tab, pick one of the icons you are willing to use. On the right side, you will see a section called 'share this photo'. Click on the HTML code, and it will copy itself. Go back to the other tab, paste the code on your HTML/JavaScript box. Now, the code should look just like this:
<a href="http://s1166.photobucket.com/user/printsmitten/media/FREEBIES/Social%20Icons%20Freebies/peach-insta.png.html"target="_blank"><img src="http://i1166.photobucket.com/albums/q602/printsmitten/FREEBIES/Social%20Icons%20Freebies/peach-insta.png" border="0" alt=" photo peach-insta.png"/></a>

The first thing you should do is to remove the highlighted part. Once you do that, write down your actual social media link there. For instance, because this is an instagram icon, I should write my instagram URL which is https://www.instagram.com/avseslk . After that it will look like this:

<a 

href="https://www.instagram.com/avseslk"target="_blank"><img src="http://i1166.photobucket.com/albums/q602/printsmitten/FREEBIES/Social%20Icons%20Freebies/peach-insta.png" border="0" alt=" photo peach-insta.png"/></a>

That's totally all you have to do! You can copy and paste the HTML codes of all icons you like in your HTML/JavaScript box, then do the same thing for each. Then save it, and visit your blog to check if they work. 

2. What I tried to explain above is the way I added social icons on my blog, but keep in mind that there are also free/paid uncostumazible/customizable ways to add these icons on your own blog. Just surf on the internet!

STEP V: INSTAGRAM WIDGET

It's almost the same as social icons, again you need an HTML code. Thus, go to your layout > sidebar > add a gadget > HTML/JavaScript. Next, you should find a website that will provide you the widget. You'll see there are a lot of them if you search for 'Instagram widgets for Blogger' on Google. I preferred to use Instansive. You should put your Instagram username (or any #hashtag), do the settings, and click 'preview'. You can check the preview and make changes if you wish. After that, once you get the code, copy it and paste it in your HTML/JavaScript box. Save changes, and it's done! 

I would like to remind that I am not professional, and even though I've spent hours trying to customize my own blog, I still don't know a lot of things! I just wish I could be helpful, and I am willing to help if there's anything I can do. Also, I would appreciate it a lot if you could share your thoughts on the comments below. Have a lovely day!