Tune in to the latest episode of Xeno to listen to Gabby discuss New Global Normal and broader considerations of home, identity, and belonging.
I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to speak with Isabella McDonnell on her podcast, Xeno. I had such a wonderful time talking with Isabella about New Global Normal, growing up as a third culture kid, identity, and belonging.
Perhaps my favourite takeaway from our conversation is the notion of learning to be comfortable in discomfort. This theme arose from our discussion on the ambiguous identities of third culture kids. As third culture kids, we often spend the better part of our formative years struggling to make sense of our ambiguous identity. In exploring the rich, intertwining threads that make up who we are, it is easy to become obsessed with finding ‘the answer’. Yet this answer, more often than not, does not exist in a clear-cut sense. It is when we come to terms with this that we can appreciate that existing in a space of ambiguity – a space of discomfort – is a strength. When we learn to be empowered in such spaces of uncertainty, spaces that cannot be easily defined or labelled, we learn to be comfortable with the simple statement: I do not know. This challenges us to be constantly curious – about ourselves and about others. It also necessitates that we are humble in our approach to the world. It means that we recognise that the goal is not to define and label, to box and order, but to thrive in disorder.
Of course, this thought does not just apply to third culture kids. It applies to us all. We all exist in intersecting identities, in ambiguous spaces, in hard-to-define relationships with ourselves, others, and the world around us. It is precisely the ability to thrive in the unknown that allows us to meaningfully engage with fellow humans who hold experiences, perspectives, and backgrounds completely different to our own.
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