As we reflect on the last two articles within this series about Madi Soler and her life as a Third Culture Kid (TCK) and Susan Hsin and her life as an immigrant kid, we can begin to understand a lot of the similarities TCKs and immigrant kids across the USA have with one another. In this final part we will dive into the life of another immigrant kid to draw comparisons between each subject.

South to North America

Daniella Nietzen, 20-year-old student at Colorado State University, can relate to Hsin in the sense of moving internationally. Nietzen moved from Costa Rica to the United States at the young age of eleven. After spending the beginning of her life in the one place she knew as home, Nietzen had to relocate. Her Costa Rican lifestyle soon morphed into an “all-American” one in Dallas, Texas.

The absence of friendships for an immigrant kid

After interviewing Nietzen about her life as an immigrant kid, I uncovered the struggles kids like her face daily. When asked about how the move affected her childhood, Nietzen said she did not know what to expect with moving. The foreign aspects of a new country came flooding in as she started middle school in Texas. Nietzen explains how she felt overwhelmed with the 500 kids in her class in comparison to the thirty back home. Although she counters that she never faced any real bullying, she had no friends to spend lunches with at school.

According to Ayse Cici Gokaltun in an article titled “The Impact of Friends on Newly Immigrant Children’s Emotional and Behavioral Adjustment“:

The presence of social support becomes essential for immigrant children and adolescents to cope with these important transitional circumstances. Friends are both sources of social support and models for behavior.

Since Nietzen did not have the friends to ensure an easier adjustment, the move went over poorly. Nietzen discloses she “lost a lot of weight; so much so that her parents reconsidered moving back to Costa Rica.” Although this never happened, maybe with more friends earlier on, Nietzen’s parents would not have even needed to consider this.

Shifting from negative to positive as a TCK

Despite the difficult changes, after sixth grade and a year in the USA, life started becoming normal again for Nietzen as an immigrant kid. She began finding herself, meeting new friends, and adapting to U.S. culture. With this new-found confidence and comfort, Nietzen felt grateful for the move. According to Barton Goldsmith from Psychology Today in “Adapting to Change”:

If the changes in your life are overwhelming, you don’t have to deal with them all by yourself.

Once Nietzen reached out to people and made friends while continuing to assimilate, she saw her life begin to improve. Sometimes all it takes is getting out of your comfort zone to positively change the course of your life.

Within this series, I have asked each interviewee if they are happy with the way their lives turned out. Soler, Hsin, and Nietzen have all confirmed their gratefulness toward their families for the life they have lived as TCKs or immigrant kids. Focusing on Nietzen, she discloses “being a child immigrant has taught [her] to be grateful. There are so many people in this world who wish they were in [her] position. [She’s] learned that nothing lasts forever, even the struggles that never seem to end. Everything gets better and there is always light at the end of the tunnel, no matter how long and dark the tunnel is.”

“I am happy about my childhood. It wasn’t as stable as some. But it made me who I am today.” Daniella Nietzen

Daniella Nietzen, 2021 on her life as an immigrant child.

Culturally mobile effect

Hearing the stories of Soler, Hsin, and Nietzen illustrate just how impactful being a culturally mobile child can be. Whether you crumble in the hardships or rejoice in the opportunities, moving from state to state, or internationally as a TCK can completely throw off the course of your life. Fortunate for these three amazing women, their unique childhoods all shaped them into diverse, intelligent people.

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