You know the feeling. Speaking one language at home and another in the streets. Switching code, switching clothes, switching selves all in the span of a day.
Growing up between cultures isn’t just about diversity, it’s about duality. About balancing the expectations of two worlds that often don’t speak to each other. And about forging an identity in the space in between.
In this post, we share real memories, soft struggles, and the joy (yes, joy!) of living life between lines and how these experiences shaped our values, our voice, and this very podcast.
Because when you don’t fully belong to one place, you learn how to belong to yourself
Two sets of instincts, one person
Growing up between cultures means learning two sets of rules for the same situation and having to pick, quickly, without ever being taught how. How loud you laugh, how you address someone older, whether you say what you think — the right answer changes depending on which room you are in.
Most people who grew up this way become unusually good at reading a room. It is a real skill, and it comes at a cost most people never mention.
What it gives you
Translation, in every sense. Not just language — you can explain one group to another because you have stood in both. In work, this is quietly valuable and rarely on any CV.
Comfort with ambiguity. If you grew up knowing that two contradictory things could both be normal, you are less alarmed when a situation has no clean answer.
Perspective on your own habits. People raised in a single culture often mistake their customs for human nature. Growing up between cultures makes that impossible.
What it costs
The question of where you are from. A small question with no short answer, asked constantly, that quietly reinforces that you are not quite from anywhere.
Being slightly foreign in both places. Too much of one culture for the other and vice versa. The place you are “from” may be the place you feel most observed.
Constant low-level adjustment. Code-switching is real work, and the tiredness is invisible to everyone else.
How it shows up at work
Directness is the clearest example. In some cultures, saying exactly what you think is respect. In others, it is aggression. People raised between the two often over-soften, then get read as unconfident — or over-correct, and get read as blunt.
The same applies to self-promotion. If you grew up somewhere that treats talking about your achievements as vulgar and now work somewhere that expects it, every performance review is a small translation problem.
The reframe worth having
The instinct is to see this as being incomplete in two places. The more accurate description is being fluent in two — a rarer thing, and one worth naming rather than apologising for.
Related reading
- What Does It Mean to Belong?
- 5 Facts About Sweden I Wish I Knew Earlier
- Personal Branding vs Self-Promotion
- More from You Creatives
Frequently asked questions
Is growing up between cultures an advantage or a disadvantage?
Both, honestly. It builds adaptability and perspective, and it costs a settled sense of belonging. Most people find the balance shifts in their favour with time.
How do I explain where I am from?
Give the answer that is useful to the conversation, not the complete one. “I grew up between X and Y” is enough, and you owe nobody the full version.
Does it affect professional confidence?
Often, especially around self-promotion. Knowing that the discomfort is cultural rather than personal usually makes it easier to work with.
