Meet the TCK: Rachelle BD

Meet Rachelle! Rachelle has lived in Niger, Thailand and the US. Her growing up years were split half and half between Niger and Thailand, with a few years here and there spent in the US. Thailand feels the most like home to her. Read about how hard it is constantly to expect inconsistency in her life. Listen to the ways that she navigated opening up to people about her life experiences and the advice she gives fellow TCKs.

Can you briefly share your TCK background (where you grew up, your parents' nationality, and where you currently live)?

"I grew up the first half of my life in Niger and the second half in Chang Mai, Thailand. Both my parents are also TCKs, with my mom being a missionary kid from the Philippines and my father originally being from Puerto Rico and moving to Miami when he was around 11. I just finished university in Texas and live in Missouri, but I'm about to move to Kansas in a few months!"

What's one TCK experience or memory that really defines your TCK journey?

"The university I went to had a tradition in which every time you introduced yourself to someone who also attended the university, you followed a script that lists out your name, major and hometown. This meant every time I met someone new I was asked and had to answer the dreaded TCK question, "Where are you from?" Even after doing it probably close to 100 times, I still cringed at having to answer, or more amusingly, considered just making up a random place to call my hometown."

How has being a TCK shaped the way you see identity, home or belonging?

"I realized the necessity in making my identity, my home, be something more constant than simply a place or culture. For me, that means placing my identity in Christ; I found comfort in understanding that I will never be truly home until I'm reunited with Him, and my citizenship ultimately is in heaven, not any nation on earth."

What has been the hardest part of growing up between cultures?

"The expectancy of inconsistency. While I appreciate the humility that has come as a result of knowing that I will never fully understand what's going on culturally, whether it's in the country I grew up in or my "home" country, it can get tiring to always be paying close attention in order to not miss something important that can inform the way I am supposed to act."

What has been the greatest gift or strength you've gained from being a TCK?

"Perspective. Especially as I've entered into the military which is also a huge melting pot of cultures and backgrounds, I'm able to bridge the gap more effectively as a TCK. This perspective extends beyond just people, but also to solving problems, as I approach it from such a different place than most of my peers."

How do you stay connected to the cultures that shaped you?

"My first year or so of university, I never told anyone I was a TCK or that I grew up overseas. The result was the opposite of what this question posits: a disconnection from the cultures that shaped me. As I began to be more open about my experiences, I was also able to place reminders in my everyday life of my background, even if it was just a poster or souvenir."

What advice would you give a fellow TCK?

"I don't know what advice I would give to an adult TCK, but I do know what advice I would give to a younger TCK, especially one about to transition into life in their "home" country. Be open about your experiences but don't make it your identity. Branch out, make friends with people who have wildly different backgrounds than you and learn from them."

If your life were a movie, book, or playlist, what would it be called?

Unqualified But Highly Motivated; Doing It For the Plot