third culture kid (noun): 1. A person who has spent a significant part of his or her developmental years outside the parents' culture. 2. Someone who builds relationships to all of the cultures they were raised in, while not having full ownership in any. I never fully understood the meaning of this phrase until I moved back to the States four years ago. I knew the term referred to people like me, since I had grown up hearing it constantly. The only...

I didn’t want to go to Haiti. Who in their right minds would? It is a land filled mosquitoes, malaria, and debris from the recent earthquake, where violence is common and poverty runs rampant through the streets. I had seen images in the news of buildings reduced to rubble and bloody people sleeping on the streets. I was filled with sympathy for these people, but I was content enough to let the experts deal with the messy situation. So...

Prejudices are prevalent throughout our world. Prejudices based on appearance, behavior, and stereotypes are the kind people usually think about off the top of their head, and are definitely the most well known. But I think the prejudices that are the most widespread and fatal but fly under the radar are ones that relate to people’s ideas and beliefs. We as humans so easily believe that we are right and that others are wrong. Often we forget that opinions...

I remember the first time I saw her. Shoulder-length brown hair, black skirt, red flats, ready smile. Professional, yet friendly and open. I was so excited. She was the first real, official teacher I had ever had, since I was homeschooled up until then. Her name was Miss Amanda. The first day of sixth grade was a new beginning for all of us. A new school for English-speaking kids had just been started where we lived in Azerbaijan. There were...

Passionate, curious,...

Harvard, Princeton, and Duke--all very relaxed and comfortable....