Growing up in Japan was not always “bliss” for me. In kindergarten, I had many friends, and I really enjoyed being myself. My family had to move houses a few times due to my parents jobs and our schools and because of that, I always had to make new friends over and over again. But that was not really an issue for 9 years old me. I would always make new friends in no time. However, things did not go as it used to for our final move. This new city and school my family moved to did not have many foreigners which made it difficult for me to feel like I belonged and for others around me to see me as a part of their community.
Fast forward to 2022-2023 when I was in my final year of high-school, we were all required to do a thesis/research on any topic of our choice. Even though I overcame the experience I went through when I was younger, I wanted to know and connect with others who may have been through the similar situations like mine, which led me to do my research on the identity formation of third culture kids. This research provided me the opportunity to learn about who third culture kids were and the kind of experience they go through. Some of my research method required me to conduct interviews and meetings with other young people with multi-cultural backgrounds, and that made me to create larger connections with others who have experienced similar situations as mine.
In June 2023 after graduating from high-school, I thought about the research I did, and I thought of ways to bring it back to life. I decided to host an event mainly for children and young people with mixed roots and cultural backgrounds to come together and get to know one another. We played games, ate food, talked and shared our experiences, and I even shared somethings I learned from my research through presentations. After the event, I received so much great comments and feedbacks from parents with Third Culture Kids, and others who attended the event.
A few month later, I decided to make it more official and created an organization called Third Culture Kids & Adults which mission was to support the identity formation of young people with multi-cultural backgrounds living in Japan, and to empower them to love and be confident in their roots. While I was in Japan, I had some friends from high-school help me with the hosting og these events. We went to many different places around Japan to host, and even collaborated with other organizations to host more events.
However, because I had to come to Canada to study abroad, I was unable to do in-person events any longer. But because i did not want the project to end, I hosted online events regarding the same topic, posted educational content on the organization’s Instagram, wrote a children’s picture book based on my experiences called “Finding I”, which I sold about 30 copies, and created a short film called “So Where’s home ?” featuring about 12 Third Culture Kids’ interviews talking about their upbringing and their experiences, which was uploaded on YouTube in February 2026.
I intend to continue this project/organization with the aim of inspiring many more young people with multi-cultural roots and backgrounds. I believe that what I went through is not for me alone, but to share and inspire others to be strong and courageous even in difficult situations.
Below is the link to TCKA Instagram and the YouTube video:
https://www.instagram.com/thirdculturekids_adults?igsh=bzBpYWJ5N3BzdG5h&utm_source=qr