Basketballer Lauren Jackson: Five favourite travel destinations

SEATTLE

Seattle was the place where I played most of my career in America. I really struggled with travelling and being away from home when I was young. I was a mummy's girl to a fault. So, when I was drafted in America, it was either going to make me or break me.

My anxiety about leaving home really affected my excitement about playing over there. But it turns out, I loved it. The city itself is magic. It's so beautiful and felt like an eclectic mix of Melbourne and Sydney. It allowed me to flourish both as a basketball player and as a person. If Seattle had been a terrible experience, I wouldn't have had the career I did.

MOSCOW

Moscow was interesting. I played there for almost four years, and when I was there I felt like there was a part of me missing, like I was a little bit owned. It's different; women are more submissive to men. Experiencing that is what made me decide I wanted to learn about female empowerment, and to start gender studies. For me, that path has been the most rewarding that I've had off the basketball court (apart from being a mother, of course), and it's why I'm involved with the VicHealth #ChangeOurGame campaign now.

CANBERRA

I have a big soft spot for Canberra. Albury will always be my home and my favourite place, but when I was 15 I left home to attend the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, which in true Lauren fashion, I ended up making my home for a very long time. A lot of people say that Canberra is soulless, but I think it is a unique, wonderful place. Because I felt so safe and at home there, I could flourish in basketball.

SEOUL

I had the time of my life over there. I met people from all over the world, and some of them became my best friends. Apart from the basketball, there was no pressure, and I was fit, healthy and playing well, so I absolutely loved it. Because I didn't speak the language and there was only one foreigner per team, I was able to really focus on myself and on my own basketball, meaning I just got so much better. I'd go back in a heartbeat.