One of the reasons I’m excited about going back home to Liberia with the team from Madison is because it always a fun but good uncomfortable experience.
Last time I went in 2016 I learned a lot of about myself and my identity. Mainly the term being a third cultured kid. Third culture kids (TCK) are persons raised in a culture other than their parents’ or the culture of the country named on their passport (where they are legally considered native) for a significant part of their early development years. They are exposed to a greater variety of cultural influences. I was born in Liberia but raised in Michigan.
Some of the things I’ve learned is that I don’t always fit in, that no place is really home, that I’m still learning about my birth country Liberia, which is difficult because of the outside expectation that I should know everything, being able to adapt to various situations but also how being a 3rd cultured kid has its assets. One being able to be a bridge between people but especially the two cultures that have majored influenced my life, Liberian & American.
Being Uncomfortable usually breeds growth and moments by which one learns more about themselves. I learned that “where I fit in is that I don’t fit in” and that that is an okay place to be because God is there with me.
God Bless
Alfield Reeves