It’s not a contest – Mine Özgüle

Mine is on a journey of self-discovery in her own world. A journey of self-realisation without fear, hesitation or embarrassment… She takes every step in a unique way authentic to herself, without paying attention to the judgements of anyone else. It’s not a contest, but Mine’s only rival is herself.

What was the turning point for you?

My turning point was when I started releasing my music. The pandemic was definitely the beginning of this. When the questions of what’s going on outside, what everyone is doing, what am I missing out on were silenced inside me, my journey to find out exactly who I am (without hesitation) began. One day, when no one forced me to do anything, when I didn’t have to be ‘anyone’, I found out who I am. I found oyt what actions I kept doing at home, and found the courage to follow them.

How did you realise what you want to be in life, how much of your professional decisions match your personality?

In my early 20s, I pursued professions that I thought would get approval from the society. Everyone told me “you are trying to do too many things at the same time, if you do that, you will never be successful in anything”. It was a cramped period, where I tried to find myself and what people thought was right from time to time. Then I realized that external validation is never good for how I feel on the inside. Even if what you do is deemed successful, if you don’t feel good about it, it doesn’t mean much. Also, hearing someone say well done is a good feeling for a total of 2 seconds. After that, it is sincerely numb. When I experienced this devastation, I built my new world by relying only on my own instincts. I beat myself up a lot, but then I always listened to them again.

That’s why my personality covers almost all of my professional decisions. I try not to be involved with anything that I don’t feel I belong to. In fact, I think that’s why my career journey is progressing slow paced. But I’m very pleased, I look back a lot and I’m always proud. I try to shape my life according to “What would the little Mine do, would she be happy with what I did?”

What does the future mean to you?

I can see the future full of worries, happiness, disappointments, excitement, new people, those who are still in my life, those who broke my heart, those who made me fall in love, successes and failures. It is so much fun and so tiring. I have many wishes, many worries. But I take good care of myself, so I look forward to the future with great anticipation.

How much space do the feelings of winning and losing occupy in your life?

I fought my biggest battle with these feelings. I felt like I was worthy as long as I won, and I had no value as long as I didn’t win. This is a completely wrong idea that we were taught when we were growing up. Life is not like that, and the feeling of winning is very relative. As long as you can learn to listen to yourself, value your wishes and go after them, what we define as ‘losing’ is even fun. Because as long as you are not defeated, you do not learn anything new. And as long as you don’t learn anything new, you remain the same you. It’s boring. I think you should not take yourself too seriously and always think ‘what can I learn from this situation’.

In what cases can you describe yourself as a ‘winner’?

When I achieve what I dreamed of and it feels as good as I imagined. I feel most victorious when I can share my success with enthusiasm. There have been some moments in my life when I felt I had won and I was alone. And I realised that this feeling means nothing to me unless I share it.

Creative Direction and Interview by Duygu Bengi

Fashiıon Direction by Burak Sanuk

Photography by Mesut Adlin

Fashiıon Editor Murat Şentürk

Make Up by Birce Selcik

Hair by Rıdvan Deniz

Creative Production by BI Creative

Creative Team Belgin Demirhan, Şevval Küçüktır, Tunga Yankı Tan, Umutcan Öncü⁠

Hair & Make Up Assistant Hatice Sayın