Identity Checkpoint: Arrival

Maybe you're already there. Unpacked, jet-lagged, staring at a ceiling in an apartment that isn't yours yet, wondering what you signed up for. Maybe you're still packing, weighing your whole life against a baggage limit. Maybe you're panicking a little, and that's fine, panicking means you understand what you're about to do. Or maybe you're still looking, still waiting on the call, still refreshing your inbox. Wherever you are in that, this is for you, and this Monday is where we start.

Nobody sets this part up for you when you go overseas. The basketball takes care of itself. You've been doing that your whole life. What sneaks up on you is everything around it, the version of you that exists when you're ten time zones from everyone who knows your name. That person needs looking after too, and the season has a way of burying him before you notice he's gone.

So a few times a year, we're going to stop and check in. Not on your stats. On you.

This is the first one. Answer whatever you want, skip whatever you don't, but sit with these for a minute before you scroll past:

What are you hoping this year gives you that has nothing to do with basketball?

Who do you want to be by the time you fly home?

What is one thing about this place, the country, the people, the food, the language, that you actually want to learn while you're here?

Drop your answers in the comments or keep them in your notes app where only you'll see them. Doesn't matter. What matters is that you asked yourself before the season answered for you.

We'll be back at the next checkpoint. Between now and then, go be good over there.

With OverseasX, you'll never have to walk this journey alone.