You Can Love Both: A Third Culture Kid’s Guide to Not Choosing Sides

Third Culture Kid (TCK)

Let’s clear something up: just because you have a new address doesn't mean you have to trade one part of yourself for another. You can love where you came from and where you are now. That’s not confusion—it’s range.

What is a Third Culture Kid

I’m what’s called a Third Culture Kid, or TCK if you're acronym-friendly. It’s someone who grows up in a culture different from the one their parents came from. I grew up in the overlap—think Los Angeles, Bangkok, and more than a few zip codes in between, but somehow all feel like home. It’s not always tidy. But it’s honest, layered, and alive.

I love California. I love the ocean air, the casual slang, the way strangers say “bro” with sincerity. But I also light up when I hear Thai in a crowded room, when the scent of lemongrass and chili reminds me of my roots. And just because I’ve fallen hard for Bangkok’s chaos, spirit, and late-night food stalls doesn’t mean I’ve ghosted In-N-Out or SoCal sunsets. I hold them all.

You Don't Have to Choose

Some folks seem to think you have to pick. That moving forward means erasing where you started. Like we’re only allowed one cultural subscription at a time. Cute theory—but no.

For those of us raised in the in-between, the idea of choosing just one version of ourselves feels... limited. We were built to blend. We know that identity isn't a zero-sum game. It’s a mosaic.

There’s a quiet beauty in holding space for both the old and the new. In letting childhood traditions and current joys sit at the same table. In knowing that your sense of home isn’t a fixed dot on a map—it’s something you carry with you, shape, and redefine as you go.

You Get to Love it All

So, to anyone who’s ever crossed a border, blended worlds, or built a life in places your ancestors might not recognize—you’re not alone. You don’t have to choose. You get to love both. You get to love ALL.

And if someone tells you otherwise? Just smile, wish them well, and keep thriving in the layered, expansive, and beautifully complicated life they couldn’t even begin to imagine.

We the People: Showing Up for Each Other and the Future

Today, on Flag Day, people across the country are gathering — not just in protest, but in purpose. For community. For country.

This moment isn’t about one man — it’s about all of us.

It’s about the kind of world we want to live in, and the kind of people we choose to be.

We’re not just pushing back — we’re moving forward.

From the NO KINGS protest to the joyful celebrations of PRIDE MONTH, today is about showing up. It’s about standing together for freedom, dignity, equity, and love — and refusing to be silenced, sidelined, or erased.

I see you bringing your voice, your courage, and your care.

Nonviolence isn’t passive — it’s powerful. It’s a strategy, a discipline, and a declaration of the future we’re here to create.

And to my fellow photographers, storytellers, and documentarians: I hope you capture the spirit, not just the spectacle. Show the kindness in the crowd. The power of diversity. The hand-painted signs. The open hands. The strangers becoming neighbors. 

Yes, anger is louder. And yes, conflict gets the headlines.

For the values we hold and the future we still believe in.
But history needs to see the HOPE, too.
We get to shape that story — and we’re shaping it right now.  It’s being built — by us, for all of us.

THE WORLD IS WATCHING. 

We Are the City of Angels—and the World Is Watching

 A City in the Shadow of Fear

There’s a chill in the air here in Los Angeles. ICE agents are raiding homes, businesses, and neighborhoods—making assumptions based not on legal status or due process, but on race, language, and appearance. People are scared. Communities are tense. The line between safety and fear is razor-thin for many Angelenos, regardless of where they were born.

It’s heartbreaking. It’s enraging. But it’s not the whole story.

Because while fear may be in the air, it does not define who we are. It never has.

This Is the City of Angels

Los Angeles is more than palm trees and freeways, more than movie sets and headlines. This city is a living mosaic of humanity. We’re home to over 200 languages. We’re the place where tacos and kimchi and palak paneer live on the same block. Where street murals tell stories of struggle and triumph. Where neighbors become chosen family.

Together with the surrounding Greater Los Angeles area, this region is not a melting pot—we’re a garden. Each culture, each story, each life adds beauty, flavor, and richness to the whole.

We stand together as Angelenos, as Californians, and as Americans.

We are the Golden State.

We are the world’s fourth-largest economy.

And that power comes not from sameness, but from difference. From immigrants. From artists. From essential workers. From innovators and creators. From every background imaginable. We are the dream that many said couldn’t work—but we make it work every day.

Peace Doesn’t Mean Passive

Right now, some would have us believe that “keeping the peace” means keeping our heads down. Staying silent. Looking away.

But here’s the truth: peace doesn’t mean passive. Real peace requires action.

We will support and protect each other. We will not let our neighbors face these raids alone. We will not stand by while families are torn apart. We will speak up, show up, and hold the line—not with hate, but with advocacy. 

We Are Not the Stereotypes

There are those who look at a city like Los Angeles and see chaos, danger, or dysfunction. They see our cultural complexity and label it as something broken rather than beautiful. They hear our accents, see our skin tones, or witness our protests, and call us un-American.

But that couldn’t be further from the truth.

We are not the monsters that pundits make us out to be. We are not broken. We are not bitter. And we are certainly not the enemy.

We are the promise of what a truly inclusive society can look like. We are the proof that it’s possible for different people to share space, resources, ideas—and even joy.

This is our moment to show the rest of the country who we really are—not just in our words, but in how we treat one another when it counts.

Let’s Be the Example

What happens in Los Angeles doesn’t stay in Los Angeles. We set trends. We shape culture. We influence policy. What we do here reverberates far beyond city limits.

And that means we have a responsibility. Not just to ourselves, but to the world.

Let us be a model of what peace and cooperation among diverse people can be. Let us show that safety and justice are not mutually exclusive. Let us prove that a multicultural society doesn’t just survive—it thrives when people look out for each other.

We’re not perfect. But we’re learning. We’re evolving. And in moments like this, we have the chance to lead—not by force, but by example.

Let’s invite the world to see how diversity can be a superpower. Let’s make it clear that in a place like LA, no one stands alone.

For the World Beyond

To my friends outside of Los Angeles—many of you I met while growing up in Thailand, attending Ruamrudee International School, traveling, or through this global digital village—we see you too. And we know you’re watching.

What’s happening in the U.S. right now is a mirror of deeper questions facing every nation:

Who belongs?

Who gets to be safe?

Who do we protect?

In LA, we are doing our best to answer those questions with compassion, not cruelty. With unity, not fear. With action, not apathy.

We hope that by living our values publicly, loudly, and unapologetically, we can remind others that building a just and inclusive society is possible—even when it's hard.

Choose Action, Choose Care

If you're in Los Angeles right now, I invite you to act in whatever way you can:

• Check in on your neighbors.

• Share resources and updates.

• Speak up when you see injustice.

• Show up for people who may be too afraid to ask for help.
  

If you're outside the city, consider how your own community reflects—or rejects—these same values. The need for empathy, courage, and solidarity is global.

The World Is Watching

Los Angeles is being tested. So is the nation. And in a time of uncertainty, we must become certain of who we are—and who we refuse to be.

We refuse to be silent.

We refuse to turn on each other.

We refuse to shrink.

Instead, we will rise. With pride. With purpose. With compassion.

This city does not just sparkle—it leads.

AND THE WORLD IS WATCHING.

When Disruption Reveals What We Truly Value

The Disrupter

There’s no denying our current president has disrupted the status quo more than almost any leader in recent U.S. history. We are being shown how easy it is for the system we have to be taken advantage of, corrupted, and abused. We need to see it for ourselves. For some, this shift feels like long-overdue progress. For others, it’s brought deep fear and uncertainty. Often, it’s both at once. Yes, many people are being hurt by these changes—too many.

At the same time, this period is revealing a lot. Many people are now confronting the reality of what they thought they wanted—only to find that the outcomes are far more complicated than expected. Often, the assumption was that consequences would only affect others, not themselves. That’s changing. Many are realizing those effects touch everyone. They didn’t realize how interconnected we all really are. The well-being of one is tied to the well-being of us all.

When Ideology Meets Reality

As it turns out, laws don’t ask who you voted for before they take effect. The impact, once theoretical, is becoming personal. This isn’t about left or right anymore. It’s about whether we’re paying attention to the results—not just the rhetoric.

We’re starting to see what happens when slogans become policies.

• In some states, women who miscarry are being treated like suspects, questioned by police, and denied care due to ambiguities in abortion bans.
• Meanwhile, longtime residents—legal immigrants, green card holders, and even U.S. citizens of foreign descent—are being swept up in deportation efforts under the assumption that their names, accents, or paperwork must mean they don’t belong.
• And tariffs? Once touted as tough-on-trade solutions, they’ve quietly raised the cost of everything from groceries to appliances.
• Farmers, builders, restaurants, and care facilities are scrambling to find workers—fields once quietly sustained by legal and undocumented immigrants—only to watch businesses buckle under labor shortages.

A Possible Renaissance

In the long run, I believe this era could ignite a deeper, global conversation about the kind of world we actually want to live in. And that might be the silver lining: a collective push for something better, more inclusive, more collaborative.

This is a time for us to witness, experience, remember, and LEARN. Of course, disillusionment is real. Many people are exhausted, waiting for governments to act or for other people to change. For those who have long advocated for a more inclusive, collaborative world, this isn’t a time to lose heart—but to keep showing up.

Many Paths To Progress

Some will be called to action in loud, visible ways. Others will work quietly to inspire and influence. Both are valid. Both are needed. Change needs many voices and many approaches, working in tandem. Each of us has a role to play.

For those who have grown tired, let them rest and recharge. Continue to support them so they can bend without breaking.

We can lead by example with peace, inclusiveness, compassion, and collaboration. We can continue to show what these values can create. When we do, those who share our vision will find us. And we’ll build the kind of community—and the kind of world—we’ve been longing for.

Understanding The Cost Of Division

Change will come. But sometimes, people need to fully experience the consequences of the division they once supported to truly understand its cost.