The Scientist.

Listen to this song while you read my post below, which is filled with 50 random facts about me.

1. Because I'm a TCK, my life is very lonely and yet full at the same time.
2. My mother tongue was Urdu, but I never learned it proficiently.
3. I've studied five languages in school. 
4. I started learning English as a child, and now speak it better than any other language, even though my English is sometimes broken. (When you learn multiple languages, all at the same time, it's normal for your primary language to become a bit "messed up" and confused #TCKproblems).
5. My first move was at the age of 3. 
6. My first major move was at the age of 11. 
7. I was born in a country outside of my passport country.
8. I have a confused self of identity.
9. I don't believe in war (period).
10. I saw the effects of race/racism before I knew what race and racism were.
11. I am a Muslim.
12. I love studying other faiths, and am a big supporter of the interfaith movement.
13. I used to be obsessed with (Arabian) horses.
14. Often, I feel like I am nothing/nobody because I don't fit into a singular category perfectly.
15. When you say home to me, about 10 images pop into my head, across nations and continents, of places I've once called home.
16. I have a love/hate relationship with the fact that I am a TCK (and with my TCK life).
17. I remember the first time I was jetlagged.
18. I actually love being jetlagged.
19. I can understand Urdu completely and speak some broken Urdu , but I can't read or write in it. I can read and write in Arabic, but I can't speak or understand it.
20. I want to move back to the Middle East someday. 
21. I often fantazize what life would be like if I was a normal person, who lived a normal life. 
22. I equally often reaize that if I was a normal person, with a normal life, I'd fantasize about what my life as a TCK would be like.
23. I really am a mermaid.
24. I realize that I see the world very differently than the average person.
25. I have a secret that I keep from the world. Only some people know it, and it has been a key factor in my self identity and world view.
26. I prefer Desi food over all else, but I know that no resturant can ever compare to my Amma's, Nani's, or Khalas' home cooked food. 
27. I. Am. Not. Arab.
28. I sincerely believe that world peace is possible.
29. I believe that the world would be a lot better if there were more TCK's / if being a TCK was the norm.
30. My biggest pet peeve is people who lie.
31. I really dislike individuals who are from a minority background, and are ashamed of it/hide it/make fun of it until it becomes beneficial for them. 
32. I used to want to be an air hostess.
33. I feel everything deeply.
34. I miss every past life.
35. I love my current life.
36. I would rather be on a plane right now.
37. Long flights are my favourite.
38. I spell color as "colour" and favorite as "favourite" even though I currently live in the U.S., and have only studied at American schools. 
39. The older I get, I realize that family is everything. 
40. I'm one of the most stubborn people I know.
41. My biggest heartbreaks in life were lost friendships, due to distance and time.
42. When people ask me what my favourite place to live was, I don't know how to respond. It's split between 3 places. I can easily tell them my least favourite, though... 
43. If I won the lottery, I'd buy a private Island and live there (with loved ones) in my own little bubble, happily. #FlynnRider Reasoning behind this: I can't stand world politics. It simply breaks my heart. I'd rather live in my own perfect utopia.
44. I normally don't talk about my TCK life, out of fear of sounding like a brat... My blog (here) is the only place I openly talk about it, unless someone asks me.
45. Sometimes I feel like everyone is moving forward, but I'm stuck in the past. 
46. I plan on moving at least once more in my life.
47. If the future allows, I would love to raise my children as TCKs as well.
48. I refer to myself as TCK over a TCA (third culture adult) because my adventures started from birth, basically, and while they've *continued* into adulthood, TCK is more encompassing of my life's reality. 
49. The life I live is not the life I imagined in my childhood, -at all-.
50. The main thing I wanted for myself in the future when I was a child was to be happy. I am. 

Image from: http://www.thethingswesay.com/img/6321.jpg