<aside> 👥 Group Facilitator: Megan Norton [email protected] IG: @adultthirdculturekid Website: https://adultthirdculturekid.com/
Megan Norton is an intercultural training consultant, facilitator, and researcher focused on supporting cross-cultural families. Her expertise as an intercultural trainer combined with her experience in international education enables her to design socio-emotional and educational programming tailored to globally mobile families and youth. Growing up as a U.S. diplomat dependent, she lived in 6 countries (US., South Africa, South Korea, Germany, Japan, Israel) and has lived in 4 more (Austria, Greece, Hungary, Poland) as an Adult Third Culture Kid, in addition to 5 U.S. States. Megan is host and producer of “A Culture Story” - a podcast which focuses on cultural identity, belonging, and purpose. Megan frequently writes and speaks on the ways parents, families, communities, international schools, and universities can aid TCKs as they transition from childhood to adulthood. Her forthcoming book “Belonging Beyond Borders” focuses on the TCK profile and how this upbringing shapes personal identity. Her website is www.adultthirdculturekid.com.
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<aside> 📂 PowerPoint:
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<aside> 📂 Excerpt: Here is the excerpt shared from "The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse," by Charlie Mackesy:
*"Sometimes I want to say I love you all," said the mole, "but I find it difficult." "Do you?" said the boy. "Yes, so I say something like I'm glad we are all here." "Ok." said the boy. "I'm glad we are all here." "We are so glad you are here too." "What's your best discovery?" asked the mole. "That I'm enough as I am," said the boy. "I've realized why we are here." whispered the boy. "for cake?" asked the mole. "To love," said the boy. "And be loved," said the horse. "What do we do when our hearts hurt?" asked the boy. "We wrap them with friendship, shared tears and time, till they wake hopeful and happy again." "Do you have any other advice?" asked the boy. "Don't measure how valuable you are by the way you are treated," said the horse. "Always remember you matter, you're important and you are loved, and you bring to this world things no one else can."
"Home isn't always a place is it?"*
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<aside> 📂 Excerpt:
Also, I [Megan] am including this excerpt from my [Megan’s] forthcoming book "Belonging Beyond Borders: How Adult Third Culture Kids Can Cultivate a Sense of Belonging":
*I sometimes feel sad that I didn’t have strong belonging, attachment, or ties to certain communities I have lived in before. Sometimes I regret not getting more involved locally or not sustaining relationships over a distance after one of us moved. While it’s important to process the grief I feel, it is vital that I don’t frame these situations as “relationship fails” or shame myself for not being more involved or more connected. Belonging does not work in absolutes. Feelings of belonging are not all or nothing. Belonging will always change, and it is essential to approach creating and forming friendships through the lens of gratitude and service.
Belonging involves asking: What can I offer now? What do I look for in belonging? How does this relationship provide a sense of belonging? What are ways I can serve and allow others to serve me? Sometimes it’s helpful to ask the question, “When did I belong?” and name the seasons and reasons why you felt like you belonged. In asking this question of myself, I’ve realized that feelings of true belonging sometimes correlated with the physical place, sometimes with the individual relationships I had, and sometimes with the groups in which I felt connected.*
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<aside> 📂 Additional Note from Megan:
If you and/or anyone from the group would be interested in being a part of my launch team in July, I'd LOVE that!
And one more resource: https://www.barnabas.org/member-care/adult-tck-ministries! I'm a part of this Christian faith-based Adult TCK community that hosts an annual retreat in Michigan in October. This year, the keynote speaker is Ruth Van Reken. A few of the leadership team members are Calvin Uni grads! I would be happy to add anyone to the listserv so that they are informed of the online "pop up events" and in-person meetups/retreats.
Save the Date - ATCK Retreat 2022.jpg
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