Hi, my name is Dahnia and I'm what you would call a third culture kid. Now, I'm sure you're wondering what the heck that is because up until a couple of years ago, I myself didn't even know what the term meant. A third culture kid (or TCK) is defined as "a term used to refer to children who were raised in a culture outside of their parents' culture for a significant part of their development years." Basically to simplify, I do not really know where home is; my mother is Belgian, my father is Lebanese, I have American citizenship but I lived over seas for more than half of my life.
Life as a TCK can be exhausting and confusing, as well as magical. Growing up, I lived in Abu Dhabi in the UAE- that's about an hour away from Dubai; I went to a school that housed grades K-12, attending it from grade four all the way up to graduation. I've grown up around the people I went to school with, I've seen the best and worst sides of everyone there. I got to experience different cultures and languages, and don't get me started on the food (low-key the best part of being a TCK to be completely honest). The friends I have made there have definitely been ones I'll treasure forever because everyone there was in the same boat. All my friends were from different places, living abroad in this one city. They had a saying there that if you ever moved there it was either for 2 years, or forever. While my family was one to stay for a long time, I have had many friends that only stayed a couple of years. Whether it was because they worked for the army and got relocated, or different job opportunities came up or they just didn't like it. I remember from grades 5 through 9, I had a best friend move every year. During formative years, that can be really hard, but thankfully I've kept in touch with most of them through social media and I have actually stayed close with most of them as well.
It is really hard though because while all my friends here get to go home for the weekend whenever they want, I only get to see my family 2 times a year–and while seeing new places and traveling is amazing, the actual process of traveling is just so exhausting. Home sickness is definitely a real thing when you're a TCK.
I never had a home-coming dance, I never got to live in the same home for my whole life, I don’t have any major roots to any place and try as I might, learning other languages is extremely hard. Don't even get my started on trying to answer the question "Where are you from" because to be honest, I don’t really know. Ethnically, I am Belgian and Lebanese. Based off of passports, I am Belgian, Lebanese and American. Based on where I lived most my life, I would be an Emirati. Based off of where I go to school now, I would be from North Carolina. I have no ties or roots to anywhere other than where family is–and if you know anything about Arab families is that they're massive and spread all over the place.
Don’t get this confused as a pity article though, I'm blessed to have lived the life I have and I wouldn't have traded it for anything–no matter how many times my friends talk about all the high school experiences they had that I just never did because although they have those experiences, I'm able to bring around a new perspective and conversation. Being a TCK is an instant ice breaker and so meeting new people is always fun. Meeting new people is something you get quite good at as well, because lets be real, with people constantly moving and on the go, if you don't get good at meeting new people, loneliness becomes a good friend and nobody wants to be lonely.
Getting to experience all these different cultures, religions, languages, and food (I told you guys, best part hands down about being a TCK) allows for a more open mind about the world and the goings on. Traveling had come to be a way of life when you are a TCK–whether it's visiting your parents family or going on vacation to get out of a country that summers temperature rises up to 120*F (or around 50*C because you learn the metric system!) on the regular. I've seen so many beautiful countries and met so many beautiful people. Being a TCK might sound difficult and tedious, but it really is a blessing in disguise because you get this opportunity to have these experiences that are so rare and special. To all my TCK's out there, shout out to you all, I know your struggles and wins.
Life as a TCK isn't all that bad, its got its ups and downs but so does life. TCK's just experience it in places that aren't home, but for the time that they are there, it becomes a piece of home.
