It’s not a contest – Selin Geçit

Selin radiates with endless energy wherever she goes. She never stops feeling happy, living herself without any fear and glowing as much as she possibly can. She carries her spontanity and the comfortable nonchalance that this spontanity gives her with her at all times. It’s not a contest, but Selin seems quite happy to win.

What was the turning point for you?

“Turning point” means a big difference for me, actually a sudden change. However, since I have been experiencing music as a part of my life since the age of 7-8, I cannot say that I have a “single turning point”. If I think about a few prominent events, winning the “Vodafone Freezone” inter-high school music competition in 2015 gave me an important awareness. When I won the first prize for the strongest female vocal, my self-confidence grew even more. At that time, I was convinced that when a person pursues what they really want with passion, works hard and combines this work with their talent, they can achieve things that even they cannot predict. In other words, my motivation to continue “on the road” with music increased with this competition.

How did you realise what you want to be in life? How compatible do you think your professional decisions are with your personality?

Actually, I don’t remember a moment when I said “now I realise what I want to be” in life. The climate which I grew up in was always musically fertile. My father played the guitar and sang, there was always more than one instrument in the house. I was lucky in that aspect. Girls have fantasies of being a princess, a fairy, a nurse, etc. Immediately after my first childhood with Barbie and princesses, I always turned into a musical child after the age of 6-7. I used to imagine myself in musicals and competitions. In imaginary talent competitions where my grandfather was the jury, I would take on other characters of my own creation, sing in their mouths, even sing badly on purpose, compete with 2-3 singers and I would win. I think the moment I clearly decided to make a living as a musician was when we were receiving positive feedback for the cover songs we had been publishing on our Youtube channel for about 4 years; I was about 15 – 16 years old. Now, to answer the second part of the question, I need to point to the family influence I grew up in. My family, and of course especially my father, has always supported me in music and paved the way for me to consider music as a career option. He mentored me from the very beginning of my music career. As a young musician in his 20s, this has enabled me to make more confident choices when making decisions at the crossroads. I guess I had such an advantage compared to many young musicians. Thanks to the vision I built with my father’s mentorship at that time acting as a compass, I think I can see the right option more easily when making decisions now. My personality and my general stance towards life naturally affect my decisions, but sometimes the right decision may not make a quick return.

What does “future” mean to you?

It seems impossible to predict the future. But the only thing I know and even the only thing I am sure about the future is that I will always be working to do what I am doing now on a larger scale. It would be even more enjoyable to be able to announce and show what I write and say globally, and to continue to do it all happily.

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

I think I love the happy moments I get from winning, but I think I liken the pain of losing to the pain of a needle when we are sick. So that angle reminds me that I’m on the road to recovery. but I guess winning and losing is part of our life. If we win all the time, maybe after a while the journey might start to get boring, but because we lose, our wins are actually more enjoyable. And when you lose, you start to find ways to do even better, at least that’s how I always look at it. Of course, there are days when I feel the pain of losing more when I fall, but since I can see the future picture, I preferred to continue on the path of winning. So, don’t give up and continue losing and winning!

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

I guess I’ll never be able to describe myself as a “winner”.

When we say “I made myself happen”, when we see ourselves as “winners”, I think we start to care less about growth and development. Therefore, I think it is best to have a series of dreams that excite us, that magnetise us, that make us want to grow continuously, that are challenging to achieve, and that are set one after the other (from easy to difficult). We may feel good when we reach one of these goals, but after a short period of enjoyment, we move on to the next goal.

I have a picture in my mind, when that day comes, I will definitely feel that I have won. I want to be the founder of a school or academy where talented young people will learn how to write, perform and express themselves. If I can leave such a thing behind, I think maybe I will feel that I have won!

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