Third Culture Kids
posted by Navigators on July 14th, 2025 in Community | Culture
By Leah Pieri, first published in Compass Winter 2025
“A ‘Third Culture Kid’ (TCK) is a child who spent a significant portion of their formative years outside their parents’ home culture, often in a different country or environment. This experience leads them to create their own unique ‘third’ culture, blending elements of their parents’ culture, the culture of their host country, and their own personal experiences.”1
I am only one of many TCKs spread throughout Australia, some more visible than others. We TCKs can struggle with adjusting to living in a different culture. We don’t know where we belong and if we belong. The only way to truly know who you are, your worth and where you belong is through God and being part of His family.
I wrestled with the changes and finding my way into Australian culture. When moving across the world at eight years old I struggled to find myself and who I was. I struggled with severe anxiety, so much so that I couldn’t sleep at night unless my mum or dad was sitting right beside me until my eyes were closed. I didn’t want to go to school because I was bullied and constantly made fun of because of my accent, basically being made into a show pony for those who thought my accent was cool. The only place at that time that I felt like I belonged was in my room, hidden away because it seemed like the rest of my family had their life together. My siblings all made friends quickly, or had people that we already knew in their year groups that introduced them to other people. I felt like I was left to fend for myself and that I was meant to struggle.
God is the only one who can make you feel
whole in a time and place where you feel split
between being three different people.
To battle my anxiety, my mum suggested I write a ‘thankful book’ which included writing down everything I was thankful for and then praying them out loud to God to replace all the negative thoughts and feelings with thankfulness. I slowly became calmer and more relaxed with where I was. This processing was part of God’s provision and helped me realise that my TCK culture was created by Him. Through this I learnt I wasn’t alone and that I was worth being part of God’s family. That even though I was not fully Australian or American, I was fully loved and desired by God.
“Truly he is my rock and my salvation: he is my fortress; I will never be shaken.” ~ Psalm 62:2
A much younger Leah with her family.
1. DC Pollock, RE Van Reken & MV Pollock, Third culture kids: the experience of growing up among worlds, Nicholas Brealey Publishing, Boston, 2017
Leah Pieri, who is part of our Adminsitration team, was born in the USA but has called Sydney home since her family migrated to Australia in 2010 (before she was even double-digits). Now all grown up, she is married and is establishing her own family with husband, Caleb. If you would like to support Leah’s work, please visit her Staff Profile Page: https://navigators.org.au/staff/pieril/
Featured photograph of two children running at the beach by annie Spratt on Unsplash. All other photos supplied.