THE 'THIRD CULTURE KID' INITIATIVE

Hey yall, what's good?

On my side, it's the 'third culture kid' (tck) initiative. If you follow me on Instagram (@meguymass) you may have come across me talking about it. So, what is it?

After pondering on whether or not I should create a blog, then writing my article on where I am from, I realised just how many people face the same question with as much, if not with more anxiety than I do. And to that, my inner self was like, Thank you Lord! Someone can relate to this! Where am I from, and how not to ramble when asked? That should be a guide.

Working in an environment where diversity is one of our strongest assets, I thought, how beautiful is it, that we can all relate to one another and work well together, despite the mountain of traits that differentiate us. Diversity is our strong suit. When I started working, I noticed the diversity in the people on the continent. I wasn't acquainted with my continent. I was missing out! I noticed, for example, that the Ivorians are passionate people! So much passion in the way they talk, in the way they are, and just a two hour plane ride away, the Senegalese are proud, that pride that doesn't require arrogance and their charisma drives me damn near crazy in love! All this, in West Africa alone! I am not trying to generalise here, just pointing out some of our differences, that don't make one African less African than another, but instead envelopes us in a diverse and beautiful continent that will be able to face its challenges with the different perspectives that diversity offers.

In people, I notice the same. I can relate to the friends and acquaintances that feel at home here, but also there, that face the language barriers in their place of birth or speak their native tong with an accent, or embrace their adoptive cultures more so than their parents'. In all this I remember our fluidity. We (including non-TCKs) are not static. Our adventures, our experiences shape us and come with us where ever we go, until we are made a product of the sum of environments we've lived in.

But girl, what is the damn 'third culture kid' initiative? Hehe, sorry, I got carried away. Third culture kids, are not necessarily kids. Just individuals having grown up in different cultures than that which their parents originated from. Maybe they have another nationality or feel at home elsewhere than where their parents came from.The 'third culture initiative' will aim at discovering how others respond to the question "where am I from?". It's about telling our stories. So in this spirit, every end of the month, I hope to share with you a tck story as the interviewees, answer in article form, where am I from?

I hope you stick around to discover these stories and maybe catch the essence of the people behind them.

Until next time. Bisous, Meg.

PS: I was listening to Runnin' by Kehlani while writing this. And there's this sentence that gets me hyped when I listen to it "90 degrees in California you put chills in me" yaasss girll, where he at? haha, bisous!