Hi Rupert,
I hope that everything is great.
No, I won’t start my blog post just like that. 🙂
I read your e-mail by chance when I was going home by 2 train at 2.30 am on 18th October. You have an inspirational story. Of course, I loved and respected it. I listened to your story now, time to mine.
My name is Kaan Caliskan who is 24 years old guy to followed one’s heart and moved to NYC from Istanbul, Turkey in December 2016. My journey almost started ten years ago.
When I first time to met the internet, I felt in love with it just in a second. After that, I started registering computer forums, read and try to make something every single day. I began to design and develop websites when I was in the second year of high school. I remember, I was using Microsoft FrontPage and ASP. Who remembers it nowadays? 🙂
As a usual start-up oriented geek, I was dreaming of moving Silicon Valley to make a better world. I saved money during the last two years of the University when I was working as a product manager at a tech company in Turkey. And then boom! I was accepted at Baruch College as a grad student, my field is marketing, and moved to the USA!. I’m also product manager of MovieLaLa which is featured as 1 of 6 most innovative startups of Hollywood by Inc. Magazine in 2016.
Why I ran to NYC instead of San Francisco? Because I realized that, I should live one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world and connect to more people = more story = more life experience. I think moving to Silicon Valley 3 years later.
Thank you. You read my story. I want to come to my main point in the next paragraph.
How many people can you feed with $150?
I changed five rooms during the last nine months. NYC’s renting scene is unexampled. I can tell you how renting price is huge in the city or finding roommates who are like your mindset is almost impossible. I can do, but I won’t.
Rupert, my life is not perfect but better than %95 of the world. There are a hundred of millions of people who can not reach clean water or eat basic food. They don’t survive, they “battle” to be alive. Now, I have an offer for you.
Are they look delicious? Tasty? I love cooking and I cooked all of them. During the weekdays almost every day I cook myself and my friends. Cooking help me to improve my concentration and clear thinking skills. Sure, If we will be a roommate, I can cook for us too. But it is not my offer.
I live in Brooklyn, and I pay $1200 monthly for my room. If I can be your roommate, I will spend $600 for buying food just to feed homeless in NYC. I will do it every Saturday or Sunday.
Now, I’m asking you. How many people can you feed with $150 in a week? I can cook for 35-45 people with just $150. If I don’t pay for rent, I can share it with people who “really need it.” I won’t just cook, I also deliver to them. If you want, you can join me to deliver foods to homeless.
Every bit of help counts. There is no big or small help; help is a help. If we can do it for them, maybe we help them to survive cold NYC falls. :/
So, I told that I pay $1200. I will spend my $600 for helping homeless. What about remaining $600?
I’m 24 years old. I try to understand how the world works and life too. I want to save $600 every month to travel to Costa Rica. No, not for a five stars hotel. My boss knows a hippie commune in there, so my plan is that go to Costa Rica for living with a hippie commune in the forest with just water and basic foods. It would be an amazing life experience for me. I feel(also believe) that If I do that, I can understand the world better and my life perspective would extend.
Rupert, what you plant now you will harvest later. We can plant “love” now. Love always wins.
Take care,
Kaan