30 Comments

Thanks for the nice story! I posted a story about trees last week in English and German. Here’s the English version (if you are interested): https://joergscholz.substack.com/my-tree

Expand full comment
author

Thank you, Jörg! Sorry for the delayed response. I was travelling last week for my birthday. I am slowly catching up on everything. I will check out your post. Love trees! Have a great weekend 🖤

Expand full comment

Beautiful story of your name! My name is also a reference to a tree and I learned to love my name as I learned more about it.

Expand full comment
author

Ohh the linden tree! So beautiful 🖤 Just googled it and -> it's perfumed honey, very precious because the flowering is very short, is a recognized softener. Love!

Expand full comment

Yes and it is a medicine for the heart! Also a calming herb for the nervous system that makes dreams more vivid.

Expand full comment
Apr 25Liked by Tuğba Avci

Naming a child is such a big responsibility. Your parents’ choice for you obviously didn’t always make sense or make life easy. It sounds like now, it’s become a key to such learning - literally connecting you to stories and nature. Thanks for sharing.

Have you read Richard Powers’ The Overstory?

Do you know the work of Suzanne Simard? Finding the Mother Tree?

🌴 🌲 🌳 🌱… endless!

Expand full comment
author
Apr 25·edited Apr 25Author

I empathize with parents - it's such a difficult choice to make. I haven't read either of the two books you mentioned, but I have now added them to my Kindle. Thank you so much for the recommendations. I love a good book recommendation. Have you read "The Hidden Life of Trees" by Peter Wohlleben? There is a Netflix documentary, too. I have the book, but I still need to read it. Thank you so much for taking the time to read and comment 🖤

Expand full comment
Mar 30Liked by Tuğba Avci

This was absolutely beautifully written. I’m so happy to have found your newsletter! My mother gave me the middle name “Kinga” which I hated as a child because I thought it sounded too masculine (little did I know that I would turn out trans!). The meaning of the name is “warrior of her people” and I think about it a lot, about how I turned into an organizer, and have spent most of my lives in social movements.

Expand full comment
author

Wow, what a beautiful story! Thank you for sharing it, Dizzy. Your experience has convinced me that sometimes, the names we are given are not just pure coincidence. While I fully support people changing their names, in your case, your name was consciously picked to align with your life path. Thank you so much for reading, leaving a comment, and subscribing. I really appreciate it. Not sure if you are celebrating, but if you do, happy easter 🐣

Expand full comment

Beautifully written and illustrated. I smiled at the memory of an unusual name at school; it is less so now and I’m glad to have it.

Expand full comment
author

Thank you, Michela :)

Expand full comment
Feb 29Liked by Tuğba Avci

Such a beautiful post and description of your name. I grew up in the middle of a forest, and my mum often says that she's not sure she could ever leave our home because of those trees. Something so special about being able to go outside in slippers, walk up into the woods right outside the door, and talk to those trees that hold so many of our memories. Also, my dad's work is in sustainable forest management so he's a little obsessed too 😂

I love how our relationship to our names can also change over time, and that the beautiful meaning can shine through and influence us along the way ✨

Expand full comment
author

Thank you, Tamzin! I missed your comment. It's really cool that you grew up right next to a forest. I also grew up in a small town surrounded by forests, and now that I'm living in Berlin, I'm so grateful for my childhood experiences. When I see children growing up in big cities, I realize how fortunate I was to spend my childhood running around the forest with my friends and building tipis.

Expand full comment

Well, Tuğba is a nice name and this is a nice anecdote. Those other kids are surely forgettable !

https://youtu.be/HkZDSqyE1do

Expand full comment
author

Thank you so much, Glenn ☺️ have a beautiful Sunday

Expand full comment
Feb 21Liked by Tuğba Avci

Thank you for this beautiful lesson of culture and history.

Expand full comment
author

Thank you, Lisa! I loved writing this and would love to share more about my culture and its rituals.

Expand full comment

It’s important and fascinating to me to understand different cultures. We have a lot to learn about each other.

Expand full comment
Feb 20Liked by Tuğba Avci

A beautiful piece of writing on a beautiful subject and culture.

Expand full comment
Feb 18Liked by Tuğba Avci

Oooh Tuğba, I loved this piece and I loved learning about the meaning about your name. I love nature but mostly I love walking around trees so I understand your connexion with them x

Expand full comment
author

Thank you, Claire! Funny enough, even my parents said they learned a lot of new things after reading my post yesterday. I watched 'David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet' on Netflix yesterday. Have you seen it? It's extremely sad to see so many trees being cut down and how important they are for us, not just mentally, but also to balance our whole ecosystem.

Expand full comment
Feb 20Liked by Tuğba Avci

I have watched it. It is sad. My partner's job is tree trimmer or tree surgeon as I came accross once. I liked the term. So basically he trimms trees when needed. But he stopped 3 years ago. One of the things he always told me was that trees didn't need to be trimmed but because of how we live, we do. We cut trees so they can fit in our environment when really, we are the ones that should fit in the trees'environment.

Expand full comment
author

I was deeply moved by what you wrote about trimming. It's so true. We often expect nature to conform to our needs and desires, which has gotten out of hand. In many ways, we view nature as inferior to us rather than as an equal. After the next natural disaster, we are shown the power of nature and that we must not treat it as inferior.

Expand full comment
Feb 18·edited Feb 18Liked by Tuğba Avci

Hola , Tienes Un Nombre Precioso Y Una Gran Historia Detrás De Él , Tus Padres Fueron Muy Sabios Al Concederte Ese Nombre , Eres Una Mujer Muy Afortunada. Sobre Los Árboles Sólo Puedo Decir Que Para Mí Son Mágicos , Mis Padres Desde Muy Pequeño Nos Llevavan A Mis Hermanos/as Y Ha Mi , A Plantar Y Cuidar Los Hermosos Árboles Que Tenía Mí Abuelo Y Mi Padre. Además Al Vivir En Valencia , Una De Las Zonas Donde En Las Últimas Décadas Sean Producidos Grandes Incendios Forestales , ( Mí Padres Y Yo Hemos Perdido Dos Casas , Por Estos Grandes Incendios ) , Hemos Reforestado Y Limpiado Los Montes Desde Niños. Desde El Verano Pasado Vivo En Una Pequeña Aldea En Los Picos De Europa , Donde Llevo Platandos Cientos De Árboles. Sobre El Disco De Haley Heyderikx Me Has Dejado Alucinado , Compré Ese Álbum En Vinilo , En Un Color Verde Precioso Hace Unos Años En Bandcamp. Un Saludo.

Expand full comment
author

¡Gracias por tu comentario! Siempre disfruto leyéndolos, ya que están llenos de cosas interesantes. Acabo de buscar Picos de Europa y tiene una pinta impresionante. ¿Aún vives allí? Ayer vi 'David Attenborough: Una vida en nuestro planeta' en Netflix y me entristeció saber la cantidad de árboles que talamos y cómo afecta a nuestro ecosistema. ¿Lo has visto? Lo recomiendo altamente. Disfruté escribiendo este artículo y compartiendo más sobre mi cultura. Gracias por leer. Es increíble que tengas a Haley Heyderikx en vinilo, ¡es genial! Descubrí su música durante la pandemia y he estado escuchando su álbum desde entonces.

Expand full comment
Feb 20·edited Feb 22Liked by Tuğba Avci

Hola , David Attenborough Y Félix Rodríguez De La Fuente Son Dos Referentes Para Mí. Como Te Dije Anteriormente Los Árboles Y La Naturaleza Son Una Parte Vital De Mí Vida , Me Crié En Una Pequeña Población , Donde El Parque Natural De La Albufera Tenía Una Gran Importancia Para Mí Padre , ( Tenía Campos De Arroz Y Una Barca " Latina " ) , Nos Pasábamos Horas Disfrutando De La Naturaleza Salvaje Que Hay En Éste Fantástico Humedal. Además Mí Padre Tenía Una Fábrica De Muebles Y Estaba Muy Concienciado Con Él Medio Ambiente , Era Un Ecologista Antes Que Se Usara Está Palabra. Al Hacer Sus Muebles Con Madera Estaba Muy Preocupado Por La Tala De Los Árboles , Viajo Por Todo Él Mundo Para Ver Los Bosques Donde Salía Esa Madera Tan Preciada Por Él Y Por Mí , Desde Que Tuve Catorce Años Lo Acompañaba En Esos Bellos Viajes , ( Desde La Amazonia Brasileña , A Los Hermosos Bosques De Finlandia , Indonesia Etcétera ). Sobre Los Picos De Europa , Sólo Puedo Dar Las Gracias Por Vivir En Una Zona Tan Hermosa. Voy A Compartir Contigo Un Poco De Música , De Mí Nueva Cuenta De Bandcamp , Te Dejo Los Archivos De Descargar , ( Cuando Los Descargues Borraré Él Archivo ). Un Saludo

Expand full comment
author

¡Guau! Es sorprendente que hayas acompañado a tu papá en sus viajes. Me conmovió mucho lo que escribiste sobre la preocupación de tu padre por los sentimientos de los árboles. Eso es tán bonito. Por cierto, ¿la fábrica de muebles sigue en producción? Además, quería agradecerte por compartir la música conmigo. Me uní a Bandcamp, pero por alguna razón no pude transferir las canciones a mi colección. Entonces, terminé descargándolos. Sólo para aclarar, ¿son estas canciones que compraste y disfrutas? No estoy muy familiarizado con cómo funciona Bandcamp.

Expand full comment
Feb 21·edited Feb 29Liked by Tuğba Avci

Hola , Te Dejo Cinco Álbumes De Música Electrónica Que Son Una Maravilla. No Se Pueden Transferir A Tú Cuenta De Bandcamp , Sólo Los Puedes Descargar.

Expand full comment
author

Muchas gracias. Lo descargué ayer. Emocionado por toda la música increíble que compartiste conmigo. ¡Muy apreciado! Espero que estés bien y que estés disfrutando de tu domingo. Berlín es hermoso y soleado. Estoy haciendo las maletas para mi viaje de dos meses a Atenas 🥰

Expand full comment

Hola , Ya Té Pasaré Más Música Electrónica , En Mí Ciudad Valencia Al Igual Que Berlín , Tienen Una Escena De Clubes Y Discotecas Fascinantes. Ahhh Atenas Que Suerte , Es Una Ciudad Increíblemente Hermosa , Y Además Hay Una Gran Escena Cultural En La Ciudad. Que Pases Una Fantástica Estancia. Un Saludo.

Expand full comment