It's a weird thing sometimes, being a former Third Culture Kid, especially when it comes to keeping friends and where they all happen to be at the current moment. When you are a third culture kid, growing up overseas is a crazy adventure but one of the greatest struggles out there is that of friendship. With so many people coming, and going while you too are moving around, it's sometimes hard to find close friends let alone keep friendships after so much moving.
What is boils down to in the end is truly how well you can keep in contact with people. Growing up you could befriend someone that suddenly six months later would be moving out of the country. As someone who has never been particularly good at keeping in touch with people, it's always a little strange seeing how much people have changed over the years, where they've ended up, and the things they've accomplished, while scrolling through Facebook, Instagram or what not. Although it is sad that sometimes you lose touch with people you were so close to due to the life third culture kids are placed into, there's still so much beauty to the relationships you form.
While we may not talk everyday or even every month, sometimes only once a year, what I find the most beautiful about the friendships one makes while living as an expatriate is that no matter how long you go without talking, you're still connected. Though there were definitely days in my youth and high school years where I was overcome with sadness as my best friends would come and go, to this day even if I don't talk to them anymore I'm lucky enough to say that I knew this person and we were friends while living overseas. Although the goodbyes never get easier, you are taught that it's always worth saying that first hello because these goodbyes are never forever.
One of the most beautiful things that comes out of being a third culture kid and the friendships one makes during their time abroad is the fact that you make so many friends from around the world and are all over the world. While it is hard saying goodbye, we have become the masters of it knowing that one day we'll run into each other again. There's also something pretty rad about being able to say that one of your best friends goes to college in some pretty cool place like Sydney, Australia, or London! It's also pretty awesome being able to say that some of my closest friends I met were from camps and conferences held at other international schools, and even when we don't talk everyday or even monthly when reunions do happen it's like we were never apart. I may not be able to say that I still talk to my first best friend like many people who grew up in one town can, and at times it does frustrate me, I know I'm lucky.
The life of a third culture kid is a crazy one, and looking back on my life overseas I can say it's been a wild adventure full of hellos and goodbyes. Growing up overseas with people who like you are on the move due to parents jobs and what not provides you with the strength to say hello when you know a goodbye is inevitable. While the notion of being a former third culture kid or expatriate may sound like rainbows and butterflies full of travel and happiness, the goodbyes we've said to many people in our lives are still a large part of growing up. In the end I, as well as many people I knew, would never trade our lives overseas for the world, we've learned how to be strong in the most different of ways.
