Hi Alex,

I'm so glad to have found your blog. I signed up to Change.org right away, because online organizing and collective action is something I'm really passionate about.

I'm a Third Culture Kid.

My father is a half French and Vietnamese Peacekeeper and my mother is Ethiopian. I was born in France, and grew up in 7 countries before the age of 18.

I believe this experience has helped me become more tolerant and open to different cultures and point of views.

But there are challenges too. As a teenager, I found it difficult and was confused about my identity and where I belong.


A while back I discovered I was a third culture kid and I eventually found out there were more people who shared my experience and I found a sense of belonging.

I wanted to help TCKs find a sense of belonging and founded TCKID.com, a community to support the needs of Third Culture Kids.

It's been a rewarding experience to see people who come from diverse ethnic, racial and social backgrounds connect.

It's very common to hear stories like a half British and Philippino boy who grew up in Kenya finding a sense of belonging with a German born girl who grew up in Singapore and studied in Switzerland.


You may find those statistics interesting:

-TCKs are 4 times as likely as non-TCKs to earn a bachelor's degree (81% vs 21%)

-40% earn an advanced degree (as compared to 5% of the non-TCK population.)

-45% of TCKs attended 3 universities before earning a degree.

-44% earned undergraduate degree after the age of 22.

-Educators, medicine, professional positions, and self employment are the most common professions for TCKs. TCKs are unlikely to work for big business, government, or follow their parents' career choices. "One won't find many TCKs in large corporations. Nor are there many in government ... they have not followed in parental footsteps".

-90% feel "out of sync" with their peers.

-90% report feeling as if they understand other cultures/peoples better than the average American.

-80% believe they can get along with anybody.

-Divorce rates among TCKs are lower than the general population, but they marry older (25+). Military brats, however, tend to marry earlier.

-Linguistically adept (not as true for military ATCKs.) A study whose subjects were all "career military brats"—those who had a parent in the military from birth through high school—shows that brats are linguistically adept.

-Teenage TCKs are more mature than non-TCKs, but ironically take longer to "grow up" in their 20s.

-More welcoming of others into their community.

-Lack a sense of "where home is" but often nationalistic.

-Some studies show a desire to "settle down" others a "restlessness to move".


I invite you and anyone interested in Third Culture Kids and the cross cultural community to learn more about us.

You can learn more about the TCK definition and read some stories here: http://www.tckid.com/what-is-a-tck.html