Signs You May Be a Third Culture Kid (And Not Even Know It)

I grew up believing my life was very normal and just like the next person. It didn't feel unique, it felt very normal and sometimes even mundane. I remember the first moment I told someone about my life and the look on their face and having to pick their jaw up off the floor, shocked me. It occurred to me in that moment that my life was anything but normal. In the most beautiful but sometimes painful way.

A year ago, my cousin's girlfriend at the time (now wife) recommended a book to me, Growing Up Among Worlds, a book all about the TCK experience. I quickly ordered the book and dove in, but was not prepared for what I would find. This book gave me language for so many experiences I had throughout my life that I thought were unique to me and therefore made me weird. Many of my experiences did not make me stick out like the sore thumb I thought, rather, they were shared by so many others that I both knew and had never met.

Have you ever wondered why home is so hard to define? Why can you seamlessly fit in one place and feel utterly out of place in the next? You may be a TCK without even realizing it! Here are some signs you may be a TCK:

1. You wince when people mispronounce foreign words

All of the multi-lingual people reading this, know exactly what I am talking about. Whether the language being attempted is a language you speak fluently or not, the mispronunciation of foreign words is a shocking reminder that sometimes your face says more than your mouth ever would. You have spent some amount of time in your life learning a language(s) and pride yourself on learning the perfect accent and pronunciation.

2. You'd rather never say hello, than have to say goodbye...

It can often feel easier when in a new place to simply skip the process of making friends and investing in new relationships when you know in a short time, you or they will leave again. It becomes easier to live a lonely life than to risk the goodbyes that more friendships would eventually require.

3. Your life story uses the phrase, "Then we went to," multiple times

Being a world traveler comes with both its perks and its downsides. I have had a number of experiences where people could not keep up with my life story, simply because it involved so many countries, cities and places. My story as well as yours I'm sure is marked by country hopping which can make telling someone about your life both exciting and exhausting.

4. You know how to pack

When you are used to packing up and leaving so much, you become the professional packer. When you are going on a trip with friends you may be asked, "All of your things fit in that small bag?" "Where is your other bag?" You become an expert at packing a lot of things into a small bag and being very picky about what is and is not packed.

5. You're shocked when friends say they don't own passports

As a TCK, a passport feels as important as a toothbrush. You always know where it is and probably have "fond" memories of your baby passport pictures up to the present. Don't worry, no one's passport picture looks good (you're not alone). This only adds to the shock when you hear people say they have never had a passport.

6. When asked where you got something, you answer with the name of a country rather than the name of a store

I could not count (even if I tried) the number of times I have told people they couldn't get a specific outfit of mine at Walmart. Being a TCK, means having clothing, accessories, etc. from countries all over the world and always being asked about them and where you got them.

7. You can't donate blood at the school blood drive

As someone who grew up in West Africa, I have had just about every foreign disease that would keep someone from being able to give blood at some point in my life. I don't think I am the only one who has never been able to give blood for a similar reason. When donating blood, you are also asked if you've travelled out of the country in the last 6 months. A more proper question given the TCK lifestyle is when have I not been outside the country in the last 6 months?

If any of these resonate with you, you just might be a TCK. None of these things make you weird or an outcast, they make your story unique and worth listening to. I would love to hear what else you think belongs on this list.