Urala came to this world with the name Didem. She was born in Istanbul, Turkey to both Turkish parents. Six years later her younger brother joined them. After completing her high school education in Koç High School in Istanbul, she moved to the United States for her undergraduate education. She went to Rutgers University in New Jersey where she received her psychology degree, graduating with honors. Her focus was particularly supporting social and emotional development of children and youth in school settings. She then continued her studies at Harvard University and completed her masters in the School of Education.

 

After her academic studies, she moved back to Turkey and worked at an NGO in Istanbul on education policy for a few years. As much as she loved her job, she had to quit because of mental health issues, taking a gap year for self-care. As she got better, she started working in the family business with her dad as the head of human resources. Her focus was on improving employee well being and cultivating an inclusive company culture. After a few years of working another office job with intense work load and stress, her mental health deteriorated again and this time she found herself physically sick at the age of thirty. 

 

As she felt depleted mentally and physically, she came to understand that the modern way of city life and working a stressful office job was not for her. She yearned for a different way of living- a different way of being. This is where the story of Urala begins.