Three Cultures; One Kid by Alaa

Three Cultures; One Kid by Alaa - October 2023 Scholarship Essay

One book that really impacted me was “Third Culture Kids: The Experience of Growing Up Among Worlds” by David C. Pollock and Ruth E. Van Reken. The book talks about the challenges children who grow up in a culture different from their parents' culture face. The authors talk about the benefits and many challenges that these children must face while trying to live an ordinary life.
Oftentimes, these children, much like myself do not feel at home no matter where they go. Growing up with parents from two different countries, while living in America, I often struggled to fit in with the rest. I felt as if I should be somewhere else, somewhere that had people that were like me. I frequently felt like my hometown was not mine, as if I was just visiting for a short period of time before arriving at my real destination. I fought to find a place where I belonged, while the familiar sights around me did not do much to help. I longed to go home, while not even knowing where home was.
After spending the first part of my life in America, the day I had been waiting for finally came. I got on a plane and after a long sixteen-hour flight, I arrived at what I so desperately wanted to call home, but I had been let down to see that it was nothing I had expected. Right as I stepped foot outside the airport, I could feel the stares of people on me. I did not understand why. “It’s because of the way you are dressed” my father would say. I did not understand. “Everyone dresses like this” I would reply. “Yeah everyone in America”. I was shocked, but I continued on, despite the fact that heads turned everywhere I walked. While speaking to people in the street, I was always asked, the same question by every person I spoke to. It was as if they had all agreed to ask me this question. “Where are you from?” they would ask in their fluent Arabic. When I would reply back “Egypt” also in Arabic, they would laugh and tell me I was not, that my accent was different from theirs. They spoke as if they knew my ethnicity more than I did. The wandering eyes made me feel like I did not belong. After the third day, I started to believe it too. I did not belong here.
I will not claim that being multicultural only comes with faults. There have been many benefits that come with being from multiple countries, like the ability to speak an extra language. I enjoy being able to switch from English to Arabic whenever I want. Another advantage is being more accepting of every culture. Growing up exposed to multiple cultures has encouraged me to appreciate the differences between different countries. I have come to understand that no two countries are the same, and I learned to embrace each country's differences.
To end, there are certain books that are more than just words on paper, and this is one of them. I will always cherish it as it has certainly impacted a vast part of my life. Despite putting the book back on my shelf, I know I will always carry it with me everywhere.