The life of a Third Culture Kid (TCK) may seem glamorous on paper, but the reality is a different tale. It’s easy for TCKs to dwell on the negatives because there are so few who understand what it’s like. Being from everywhere means you belong nowhere, putting the TCK in a shifting state of culture shock on a nearly daily basis. But the TCK life brings with it many blessings as well, and that’s what I want to focus on today: my top 4 favorite things about growing up a TCK.
1. Unique experiences
All TCKs have unique life experiences those with roots won’t encounter. Ask any TCK about his/her stories; most of us love to share with those who want to listen. These are a few of my own experiences from the earlier part of my childhood that may seem strange to my fellow Americans. I have many more that can’t be put into bullet points so easily.
-I was born in a hospital near a castle
-My first elementary school was an old tobacco warehouse
-I flew for the first time when I was three
-I walked the streets of several ancient biblical sites before I was even 10
2. Exposure to different cultures
Most people grow up knowing only the culture of the city or region they live in. As a TCK, you grow up experiencing at least two. This gives you a wider world view from childhood. You can understand and empathize much easier than your peers because you naturally see things from multiple angles.
3. Valuable life skills
TCKs must adapt to ever changing customs, cultures, scenery, and life situations. Flexibility, problem solving skills, people skills, creativity, inquisitiveness, and versatility are a few of the strengths the average TCK has been honing since birth.
4. Perspective as an adult
As an Adult Third Culture Kid, I can look back on my childhood and remember where I’ve already been and what I’ve already been through and draw strength from it. I can see the world not as stale words and fading pictures in a history book, but as real and vivid, full of faces and names and sights and smells. I can continue my travels in my adulthood because I’ve been doing it all my life, so I already know that I can. I can see people who are different from myself not as strange or wrong, but simply as a people with a culture not my own.
Growing up as a TCK involves many stresses and challenges, but it also imparts great gifts. Let’s remember to be thankful for the good.
The Unpoisoned Apple 
Thank you for sharing your experience so eloquently! As a fellow TCK I share in your loneliness and celebrate your oneness with the world. Your points in #2, 3, and 4 are spot on! We do think in much broader terms and I believe we care deeply about the people at large, without border constraints.
Thanks Ellen; I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Reblogged this on TCKDating and commented:
A TCK’s life can seem glamorous to others, but it can be very different from the inside. Kristin explains this so well in her piece and reminds us why we should be grateful for our crazy and wonderful cultural makeup and colorful upbringing.
Loved this post. It’s all so true and so eloquently expressed. I truly believe that all of the positives of growing up as a TCK far outweigh any negatives. Doesn’t mean it’s always easy, but what we gain from it is invaluable. Thanks for sharing this!
I would say that the hardest part of being a TCK was reintegrating into my home culture and the frequency of saying good-bye to close friends. Either they are moving, or you are. That being said, everyone has difficult passages growing up and I wouldn’t exchange my experience as a TCK for anything. I got to live in Pakistan, Ethiopia, India and Singapore. And those friend farwells turn into a lot of reunions when I move, go to different schools, or organize class reunions from my graduating class in Singapore. Those friends are lifelong connections who are also TCKs and speak my language.