So I am starting a monthly series based on what Third Culture Kids (TCK's) think about being about the TCK life. I present to you issue one!

Karissa Sorrell

Best Thing About Being A TCK

The best thing about being a TCK is learning to value and have relationships with people from other backgrounds. When you're a TCK, things like race, ethnicity, and religion seem to disappear. You don't see people for how different they are from you; you see them for how similar they are to you. It isn't as much about diversity as it is about sharing the human experience.

Worst Thing About Being A TCK

The worst thing about being a TCK is all the goodbyes. Not only are you moving from place to place and leaving loved ones behind, but your life is often peppered with other TCKs and expats who leave you as well. You learn to hate airports because they always represent tearful farewells. There is always an ache in your heart for the places and people you loved and lost.

Impact TCK's Can Make In The World

I think TCKs can help people who haven't lived overseas understand how truly similar humans are. No matter what country or culture we hail from, we all want to feel like our life counts and give our children a good life.

Adam Hacker

Best Thing About Being A TCK

Honestly, it's tough to narrow down. Being a TCK means having been privy to a great world of possibilities! All of the people and cultures I never would have experienced otherwise is what makes me the person I am today. I'm so grateful for that.

Worst Thing About Being A TCK

Not being able to be a part of any one culture/country/group. I feel as though I'm always torn in different directions. It's getting easier with age and understanding, but still, not being able to visit my childhood home, school, friends? That can be rough. Most people will never understand that feeling but other TCK's will and that makes life better.

Impact TCK's Can Make In The World

Compassion, understanding, knowledge. We generally live outside of our comfort zones, emerged in those of other cultures. This creates a bond with people whom which we may never have associated with. I love knowing that I have things in common with people I've met in Thailand, Australia, China, German, etc. It's so far beyond what can be learned from books. I started a pen pal program when I was teaching in Japan with my mom's students back in the US in the hopes of replicating some of those shared feelings. I've kept in touch with a few of those students and I can see what an impact it had. I'm hoping that TCK's will continue to bridge cultural divides and not erase them. I hope they can appreciate the differences and uncover similarities.

Karim Baro

Best Thing About Being A TCK

I think the best part about being a TCK is having been exposed to so many different cultures. This is not just a cliché statement, being around different people and different environments truly had its advantages. One obvious benefit of being multicultural is speaking many different languages: who would not want to be able to communicate in French, Italian, Spanish and English? At the very least, it helps when it comes down to asking directions or sparking a conversation that could lead to opportunities, or even a date! The truth is communication opens doors to new relationships, which enables us to broaden our perspectives and ultimately understand other people better. This ability to bond with many different cultures and feel comfortable in so many places is in my mind the best thing about being a TCK.

Worst Thing About Being A TCK

I think the worst thing about being a TCK is also having been exposed to so many different cultures. While it is great to be able to relate to so many people, traditions and even cuisines, not being able to fully master any is truly what is difficult. To elaborate on this point, even though I have been in the US for over 15 years now, there are countless times when things were “lost in translation”. Indeed, having missed many of the shows my peers have watched since they were children, or being oblivious to popular music genres adversely impacts one’s ability to communicate. When someone is not familiar with a trend or a topic of conversation, that person naturally tends to stay away from it, which creates a sense of isolation. This feeling of loneliness and misunderstanding can be hard to cope with, but as most TCKs, I have learned to feel that way - and therefore it has become the new normal.

Impact TCK's Can Make In The World

I see TCKs taking on projects that help make this world more rounded. I will share how I would like to make an impact.

I want to provide an opportunity for people from unique backgrounds (diverse candidates) to find a job that matches their unique skillset. When I first came to the US after a long journey as a global nomad, I found it difficult to find a career that matched my interests and so I chose to major in a broad field that would allow me to travel in the future: business. After having identified my major, it was time to start the daunting application process and that was even more complicated. Eventually, I decided to move to San Francisco to tackle the recruitment process, shifting my focus from finance (a field I worked in for 7 years) to technology. My long term goal is to impact TCKs (and all other candidates who do not have a cookie cutter skillsets) so that they can become visible in a market obsessed with brand names (whether the name of the university one has attended or the name of the company one has worked at). I am determined to be a change agent and to successfully reform the way companies and nontraditional candidates interact.

TCKs are blessed with unique talents and a very rare global perspective and my belief is that they will lead the way to a multicultural revolution.

What Third Culture Kids Are Saying Issue 01

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