Hazel

 September 27th, 2008 ›

While my name appears rather simple, I have always had different approaches to it especially when it comes to its meaning in Turkish language. I have decided to settle on ” a women love poet”,  for at least it sounds rather eccentric as a meaning. When it comes to its pronunciation, I have often been called various things; Hazal- a common name in Turkish, Azel- by my French friends and even Gazelle. But well at least its unique! This is what I thought until I started my BA degree in European Studies with French here in London at King’s College in 2004. It didn’t take a lot of time to realise that ‘Hazel’ with is Anglo-saxon pronunciation is actually more of an archaic, put it nicely- a grandma’s name.

Enough about my name, now a little about myself. I will be 23 in November and I guess you figured by now that I am Turkish, alas not from Istanbul but Ankara. I’ve had a rather boring life compared to some of the other LSE students- but have no complaints about this! I was born and raised in Ankara and attended French and International schools there. My life got more exciting when I moved to London in 2004 for my BA. After two years in London I also spent a year in Sciences-Po Paris as a part of my degree. The year in Paris passed by very quickly, and I returned to London for my final year as  a wine/cheese/macaron gourmet, it was particularly exciting being there at the time of the presidential elections! Choosing to continue my studies with an MSc in Comparative Politics at the LSE came very naturally as I had very much enjoyed the previous courses I had followed at the LSE during my BA. In the mean time I had also got addicted to London.

When it comes to my long-term career objectives, I am still a little confused! Because for me, this is not just a matter of choosing a career but also a circle of friends and the part of the world I wish to live in. I’ve been doing different internships in different sectors to understand what I really want. I recently got a very tempting job offer from a global law firm which is rather difficult to resist. I hope that my Masters degree will broaden my perspective and help me settle on the right choice. I am hoping to make the most of this year and of the facilities provided by the LSE and I will try my best to share my experiences and discoveries via this blog as often as I can. First things first- I will need to register on Monday to get my student ID :)