When I look back at the places I’ve lived, I come to realize how my being exposed to different places around the world has helped shape me as a human being. From the Middle East to Europe to the United States, I have been exposed to a great deal of cultural, thought and basic human diversity in my 14 years. From the sports I play to the religion I practice, all were caused or impacted as a result of my being a third culture kid.
Firstly, the sport I devote a lot my time playing, baseball, is a result of my upbringing in New York, U.S.A. It helped me develop a love and appreciation of ‘America’s Pastime’. This, however, would not be obvious for someone who has lived in the Middle East or in Europe their entire life. Baseball is certainly a
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Since I lived in France from ages 3-5, I gained an interest from an early age in the French language. As a result of only 39% percent of the people in France being able to speak English, I felt like an outsider and so my parents had me attend an all nursery French school. At first it was quite difficult, but by the end of the school year I was speaking well and had made many French friends. It also, at a very young age, made me appreciate many of the diverse aspects of living in France and French culture. When we were given the option to study French here at ASD, it saw it as an opportunity, and not as a burden. Over my three years of study my French has drastically improved, and I feel much more comfortable when we visit France every year during the summer. I have also come to realize and appreciate that one can understand the culture of a given country much more quickly and deeply when one speaks the local language. I have been able to make many French friends over the years, some of whom do not speak English very well. In this way I truly believe I have come to more fully appreciate what is important to a French person, to more fully understand French life. My study of the French language has become a means to understanding a culture, in addition to being a learning experience in and of itself. This has all been part of the diversity in my upbringing, and has helped me to realize just what a positive thing diversity