What a whirlwind of four years! When we were moving from NYC to Birmingham, Ezgi and I did not expect that Birmingham and UAB were going to be such a transformative and fulfilling four years. While Ezgi started her PhD, I have gone through the best Neurology residency experience (best, I may be biased though).
The most important person in my life these four year and ever is my dear wife, Ezgi! She joined me in this wild, busy, tiring, surprising and enjoyable journey wholeheartedly. I cannot thank her enough to express my emotions and how grateful I am. She’s my everything that got me through a residency! Without her, I would be lost…
Below is a piece from my graduation speech: “ First, I want to thank everyone who ever taught me or mentored me or helped me. I’ve been given immense support since day 1. I hope and wish that everyone experiences residency like we did in the last four years.
The past four years have been transformational. For example, I don’t have hair anymore, but a beard. When we started, we were young adults. Now, we are all adults. Well, maybe not Annie yet. She’ll get there.
In the last four years, I’ve not only been a work friend, but a work husband, a very proud one. Being the only male in a class of 9, I learned to love and loved learning about these 8 amazing women.
I loved learning about movies, black stuff and crafts from Rebecca Massey. I loved talking to Ally Heng hours on end about things I did not think we would get to. I loved taking things a little lightly with Annie and laughing about them. I loved seeing Camille being annoyed and frustrated about things, but also understanding them. I loved creating art and showing care to little details with Allie Muha. I loved making detailed plans about the future with Rebecca John. I loved being fascinated by how determined and dedicated Clara is. I loved hearing almost-fictional stories of humans that Ali Burkett tells about.
Even the first time we all met, we felt we were going to learn about Neurology and something else. That other thing turned out to be friendship and joy and care we show one another.
May I have an applause for these 8 women? Because women need to be celebrated!
I still remember sitting on a bench in Birmingham botanical garden with my wife Ezgi in January of 2022 and deciding that we want to make Birmingham our next home. We believe we have made one of the best decisions of our lives.
We have been far away from our families in the last four years. They have supported us in thousands of different ways. Some are here and some are on Zoom. I thank all of them.
They now understand how lucky we have been to have you as our family here. Thank you! “
