A lot or no one? Third Culture Kids.

What is a Third Culture Kid? For Vyhmeister (2015) in his conference in TEDx named: "Building Identity as a Third Culture Kid", is: "Someone who has spent a significant portion of their developmental years living in a culture other than their parents' culture". The origin of a Third Culture Kid can be attributed to economical, educational or social necessities of the parents, and those facts will be a long-term cause that their son/daughter become a Third Culture Kid. In order of this definition and example, I want to explain some of the advantages and disadvantages that has to be a Third Culture Kid.

• ADVANTAGES:

To begin with, based in the same source of the last paragraph, some of the advantages that has to be a Third Culture Kid is that you have a big empathy (you have the capacity to know when someone needs you or something from you) and be "experienced at saying goodbye", this mean that they don't have a big link between each place where they lived and there's no a bad feeling of leaving it, even, to the extent of be easy for them. Focusing in their knowledge, they have the special ability to compare international and local issues in order that they also have a deep understanding of human rights.

• DISADVANTAGES:

On the other hand, some of the disadvantages that have been part of this community is that (to a certain extent) they lose a connection with their identity and there will be a moment in their life that they will ask themselves: Where am I from? And they won't be able to answer, because they have been part of lots of cultures (multicultural - grow in lots of cities or countries). Focusing in the social aspect, they actually have a certain obligation of don't have lots of relationships with the people around them, thus happen in order that they will leave them and they don't want to have a bad feeling.

In conclusion, it's important to mention that actually, any advantage or disadvantage can be considered as reliable because all depends on the Third Culture Kid. This happen in order that they could consider some aspects as positive or negative. For example, as the website tckid.com explains, you can be identified as a Third Culture Kid when: "You get homesick reading National Geographic." This example helps to affirm that all depends of the Third Culture Kid to the extent that how they fell about their changes.

[Third Culture Kids] Recovered from http://stumbleabroad.net/2012/05/24/ni-de-aqui-ni-de-alla-los-ninos-de-la-tercera-cultura-relaciones-locales-almas-globales/ 

SOURCES:

1. TEDx Talks. (May 26, 2015). Building Identity as a Third Culture Kid | Erik Vyhmeister | TEDxAndrewsUniversity [Video's file] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RCmgMKJRy8 
2. Saa'd AlDin, K., Abu-Awad, J., Tempakka, T., Morley, K. (2012). ENGLISH B. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
3. KAREENELLIEGITANJALIMANA. (April 19, 2013). Advantages and Disadvantages of a TCK [Message in a blog] Recovered from https://thirdculturekidsoftheworld.wordpress.com/2013/04/19/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-a-tck/  
4. "What is a Third Culture Kid?". (n.d). Recovered from http://tckid.com/what-is-a-tck.html