I have never spent much time thinking of my life or what “my story” is. But the last few years have changed a lot for me. I have had time on my hands to ponder my life, my experiences, and what makes me. If we are all formed by something, then there has been a lot of formation in me. I have also discovered that throughout my life, the one constant has been my God, the faithful Father who never let go.

The Early Years and High School

I was born in Chennai (formerly Madras), Tamil Nadu. At age 4, my parents moved our little family to Muscat, Sultanate of Oman. Life in the Middle East offered my parents better prospects, and most of my early memories are from life in Muscat. Raised in the ex-pat Indian community, I was comfortable with the ex-pat culture but did not quite fit into the traditional Indian culture. Every summer trip back to Chennai was in-between two worlds, constantly adapting, accommodating, and finding ways to fit in. Never entirely comfortable but doing the best I could and knowing that if I adapted, then others would feel comfortable.

College and Young Adulthood

The College years found me back in Chennai, starting a new chapter. I spent the next eight years in India. I completed college, worked, married, and started a family and a new season in India. I could finally leave the years spent in Oman behind me and look ahead as an Indian woman who had learned to live in and fall in love a little with India. The constant worry of not fitting in and not belonging was starting to ebb, and I began to take root in India. We had family and friends around us. The culture around me was familiar, and I felt ready to embrace my role as a wife and mother. But then, life had a few surprises around the corner.

Young Mother to Present Day

Just as the roots started taking hold and growing a little stronger, we left India. If I thought my years of travel from one country to another were behind me, let’s just say this change was between continents. We moved to the United States, and life has never been the same. The nagging feeling of not entirely belonging stayed with me and grew. I had finally started to feel settled in India, with people around me I loved and loved back. But now, life does not seem simple anymore. It was complicated—a new country, new everything, a young mother with a young family. Life was hard, learning the culture was harder, adapting was complex, and every decision and choice was overwhelming. I did not have a language for any of my emotions. So, I clung to the one thing that stayed constant, my faith. As far as I was concerned, my God was the same in Oman, India, and the USA. I could trust Him. Holding onto that, I navigated life. I learnt to adapt, meet new people, make new connections, learn the culture, and grow. I hungered to meet others like me, those exposed to other cultures, sub-cultures, and those who had experienced transitions like me. There was always a feeling of displacement, and I felt like a round peg in a square hole. I did not understand why I felt the way I did, and not having the language for it made it all the more challenging.

Years later, someone told me about Third Culture Kids, born in one culture but raised in another. I finally understood why I felt the way I did. I had lived all my life as an immigrant, belonging nowhere and everywhere. Finally, I found the verbiage and understood the life experiences that had formed me. God had not only uniquely created me but also given me a unique story. While I have spent years trying to fit into different cultures, it has also allowed me to learn about other cultures, ask questions, educate myself, and learn to be a bridge builder.

I have had to grieve over moments where moving, leaving, and adapting to new places has brought deep pain and loss. But the grief has taught me to appreciate the journey of life that formed me then and continues to form me now. I want to share my experiences with others in the hope that they will be a source of encouragement and a bridge builder between cultures.

Jesus Himself was an immigrant. He was born in one country, raised in another, and lived among people from multiple cultures and backgrounds. My journey in this world will always feel wobbly, never entirely belonging, but always moving forward while holding the tension and trying to balance. If you, like me, navigate life amidst multiple cultural adaptations, I hope you will find my story encouraging. There is a purpose for our lives, and we can journey together.