Third Culture Kids

JEMINA WATSTEIN shares how art can be both therapeutic and transformative for Third Culture Kids, individuals who live in multiple places over their formative years.

Where are you from? 

In my early twenties, this question was easy to answer. Now, in my mid-forties, after living in Germany, Thailand, and the United States, it’s not so simple.

For my children, who have now lived in eight different “homes,” this question can stir up anxiety and usually a pause as they look the asker up and down and decide just how deep they want to go.

In 1963, the term “Third Culture Kid” (TCK) was coined to describe an adolescent who spends a significant part of their developmental years in a country other than the one listed on their parents’ passports. Over time, the definition has expanded, and new labels, such as chameleon, global nomad, and military brat, have emerged. Regardless of the label used, for someone who has grown up between cultures, the question “Where are you from?” rarely has a simple answer.

Today, over 220 million people live in countries that are not their own, and this great “floating tribe” of TCKs represents the 5th largest nation on this earth. Growing up as a TCK comes with unique gifts such as bilingualism, cultural awareness, and the ability to adapt easily to new environments. However, it also presents challenges, such as developing a clear sense of identity, struggling with feelings of belonging, forming lifelong friendships, and, of course, answering that one simple question. Where are you from?

In a recent study titled The Power of the Visual Arts to Explore Who We Are and Where We Come From: A Qualitative Phenomenological Study, I explored how TCKs feel about their identity after completing a two-year high school visual arts course. My research focused on three significant areas: Who Are TCKs?, Themes of TCKs, and Supporting TCKs Through Visual Art Education.

Long story short: TCKs move frequently, attend several international schools growing up, and may switch languages between school and home. Although this lifestyle can sound adventurous, it can be emotionally complex. A typical TCK story might include being told they will be moving at the end of the school year, packing up, saying goodbyes, and bracing for the unknown, only to arrive somewhere new. Experiencing new smells, new tastes, new customs as the new becomes the normal. They start at a new school, often as the intriguing “new kid,” make new friends, settle in, only to learn six months later that it is time to start the cycle again. Rinse and repeat.
 

Growing up as a TCK comes with unique gifts 
such as bilingualism, cultural awareness, and the ability to adapt 
easily to new environments.

Over time, the repeated moves take their toll. “Where are you from?” becomes harder to answer. TCKs carry experiences that can be difficult to explain to those who have never lived this way. Here, art can become a bridge. The beauty of the visual arts is that words are not required to express deep feelings, memories, or identities. In my study, I found that students who engaged in an inquiry-based art course and exhibited their work at the end of the program created pieces they felt proud of, often highlighting their multicultural upbringing. One young artist described her piece as a “multicultural bouquet,“ saying flowers capture the beauty of being intercultural and international. Another painted a “tribute to all of the places I’ve lived.”

So, where are you from? What does that look like to you? There’s no single answer, and maybe that’s the point. For many of us, “home“ is not one place on a map, but a collection of moments, friendships, and cultures stitched together by memory and heart.
When someone asks me where I’m from, I sometimes smile and wonder how much they want to know. If it’s small talk, right now, I say Kalamazoo. If they genuinely want to listen, then we might be here for a while, and I ask if they are ready to settle in.

If you’re a TCK, or you love someone who is, remember this: you are not alone. You belong to a vast, floating tribe, millions strong and growing. And with every story shared, every piece of art made, we build a sense of home together, one that travels with us, wherever we go.