Meet Lauren, Luca and Anna: One High School Sophomore, One High School Junior and one College Freshman.

All from different parts of the country.

All trying to find that balance between being a high-achieving student and taking time to enjoy life and get to know themselves.

I talked with these kids  about how they define success and how society has defined success FOR them-and whether or not the two go together. These definitions-and the inherent anxieties that accompany them-seem to be handed over to our kids at an increasingly early age-maybe 5th or 6th grade. The louder the drumbeat becomes, the more difficult it is for them to spend the time and the effort on activities (or LACK of activities) that might truly enable them to discover themselves, their passions, their interests and the qualities and values that truly define long-term life satisfaction.

They are encouraged to self-define at such a young age-without really knowing who they are or what they want. And all of this pressure and expectation is hurting them-they are sleep-deprived, they are anxious and sometimes depressed. 

They hesitate to speak with their parents about these struggles because they fear that parents won't understand, or won't be able to give them the support that they need, or perhaps they will just cause their parents stress-which is the last thing they want to do.