A problem child goes to study abroad at an American high school.

When I took the first big exam of my life, the high school entrance exam in 2018, I imagined going to a high school in Okinawa Prefecture, balancing basketball and having fun, and living a very ordinary high school life like everyone else. I gradually narrowed down the schools I wanted to go to, and the day of my interview with the teacher...

That day changed my life. At that time, my school GPA was 3.8 and I had no problems getting into the high school I was aiming for. I knew I could study if I tried. That was the mindset I had when I went to the interview.

A word from the teacher: “There are no high schools in the prefecture that will take you. What should we do?”

My mind went blank for a moment, and I couldn’t think of anything. So I asked my teacher, “What do you mean there’s no high school in the prefecture that will accept me?”

Looking back on my first year of junior high school... That’s right, “14 Student Guidance Sessions.” Haha, I never thought that my first year of high school would be affected by my excessive sports play and my high school entrance exams. I was in a situation where there was no high school in the prefecture that would accept me.

Through my beloved sport of basketball, I searched for a high school that would take me and I ended up at a high school in Oita Prefecture. It was a sports school, having a strong basketball team and constant participation in the Winter Cup. The coach came all the way to Okinawa to watch me play basketball and somehow he asked the school for a recommendation. Even though it was a bit of a stretch, I was able to take the entrance exam and pass.

After that, when I left my parents and got used to living in a dormitory, I suddenly started to have a desire to play basketball in America. I started to gather the information by myself. Then, in the middle of my first year of high school, I sent a lot of information about studying abroad in America to my parents.  Without saying that I wanted to go, I physically showed my parents my desire. As my first year of high school came to an end, I told them that I wanted to drop out and go to America. Even despite somehow managing to get into high school through a recommendation, I still wanted to leave. Everyone around me was totally against it.

However, my dad was the only one who pushed me forward, telling me, “This is the only time you can do this, so do your best.” With those words, I decided to go to America, dropped out of high school, and left Japan in August 2019.

That’s where IKKI’s life begins.