TIFU by being a third culture kid.

My identity crisis growing up in numerous cultures Have you ever heard of “third culture kids?” Well, that is exactly what I am. Let me tell you my story.I was born in Japan. I loved going to school with my friends, and I thought this life would continue forever. But I was wrong. I was juts 7 when my parents decided to live in another country, France and took me with them. I was too little to even understand where France was, and I was amazed by the fact that my country wasn’t the only one in this world. Anyhow, they took me to France, and let me tell you, I was not happy. I had to go to a local French school, where I had no means of communication with any of my classmates. And it didn’t help that we lived in the countryside, where I would literally be the only Asian in the school, and our family, the only Asians in the town.I adapted quickly to the environment though, but life never got easy. On the day I turned 8, I invited my French friends to my house for my birthday party. I was ready for a happy celebration, but what awaited me was a very big challenge. I had to be brave and ask my friends to take off their shoes before they entered my house, because that’s what Japanese people do. And when it was my turn to go to my friend’s birthday party, I was horrified to find her dad taking a nap on his bed with shoes on!There were harsher struggles on my way!As I walked down the street, older students from my school would call me out Chinese. I didn’t really understand it at first, so it was okay. As I gradually grew older, I heard it more and more, but I never got used to people identifying me “Chinese” or “Asian”. They were casting me out of their culture.I wanted to get rid of the features that made me look Asian. Maybe having blue eyes, blond hair like my friends could make me a member of the inner circle. But appearances cannot be changed.So, I worked very hard to soak myself in the South-Western French culture despite my looks. And I did! My behavior became very localized. People even say my French has a strong South West accent. But no matter how hard I tried, I never seemed to perfectly fit in. This constant mental dilemma was spinning in my mind my whole childhood.Eventually, I did proudly proclaim myself as Japanese and this gave me a comfort zone and protected me. But my will of assimilating French culture grew bigger and bigger, occupying more and more space in my cultural identity. I slowly started losing my inherited Japanese self and I suffered of a serious identity crisis.This is why, after living the away-life for 10 years, I decided to come back to Japan. And I finally thought that I could live an easier life of assimilating just one culture. I could finally escape from being a third culture kid and become normal! But I was wrong again. People didn’t not accept be as a Japanese there anymore and considered me an outsider. I really didn’t perfectly belong to anywhere… I realized no matter where I go, I will always be considered a third culture kid.If so, then why not celebrating the fact that I am a third culture kid?Looking at this glass, some may see it as half empty, whereas others will see it as half full. This realization was the turning point in my thinking and in my life. I realized that I was not half empty. Rather, I am half full! And I possess two of these half-full glasses with different colors! One half French, and one, half Japanese.So, I knew I had to do something that was unique to me and my backgrounds. So, I started working with a museum to create the French explanation.Despite having all these identity crises, I am now proudly proclaiming myself as half French and half Japanese.I was recently able to deliver my challenges in a TEDx speech, which I called “Third culture kid, no, no, no! Bridging kids”. Where I introduced a new term called bridging kids. An inclusive phrase that accepts thousands of kids out there like me, that embrace more than one culture in themselves.And the good thing about “bridging kids”, is that you don’t have to be a third culture kid to become a bridging kid. you can still become a bridging kid by your actions. And that is the great inclusivity of this new definition of us.If you are also struggling with the life as a third culture kid, always remember that there are also unique opportunities given to you thanks to that. If you embrace all the cultures that belong to you, you will be able to create action, that will serve this world and bridge cultures in this world.TL;DR I was born in Japan and when I was 7, my parents moved to France and kids there were calling me “Chinese” or “Asian” and when my parents moved back to Japan, I decided to enjoy being a third culture kid. via /r/tifu https://ift.tt/3j9G9Li