Wake up. Stress.

Drive. School. Stress.

Basketball practice. Stress.

Drive. Home. Stress.

Homework. Stress.

Cry.

Done.

Sleep for three hours.

Repeat until “on the edge of insanity.”

This is the life of Meaghan Hodge.

She feels overwhelmed by it all “every day. Every second of every day.”

 Looking at her, a person might first notice her smile, or the shine in her eyes as she walks to class with friends. What they might not notice is the sleep deprivation present in the shadows of her glossy eyes, or the calluses from pencils and basketballs rubbing against her fingers.

***

 Tackling a rigorous class schedule, which includes two AP classes and zero-period Associated Student Body (ASB), Meaghan also participates in basketball, is a member of various clubs around campus, and holds the title of junior class vice president. Student, athlete, leader, sister, daughter, friend - she manages to carry all of these titles.

 While this is an impressive list of activities, Meaghan has made sacrifices in order to be so involved. Sleeping an average of three hours per night, she relies on this minimal amount of rest to get her through not only a 12-hour block of school and practice, but also to help her win the battle against her ever-heavy eyelids when she completes her six hours of homework.

 When she has an away game and gets back to the school at eleven o’clock at night, her homework is still waiting for her.

 Meaghan is so preoccupied with her responsibilities that she admits, “Sometimes I forget to eat for long periods of time. Long, long periods of time, and I’m just not hungry anymore so I don’t eat for weeks.”

 “I never have free time,” she said, “and when I do have free time, I slam it with other stuff.”

 Due to this tendency, Meaghan depends on the people around her to provide a support network.

 She feels guilty for being so busy, and speaking of her friends, she said, “because I'm tired, I'm cranky, so I'm mean to a bunch of people that I don't mean to be mean to.”

 Constantly operating on three hours of sleep is a tortuous ordeal; for someone who lives her life in a sleep-deprived state, Meaghan manages surprisingly well, and she often helps other students who face similarly daunting schedules.

 Danielle Kirkland, one of Meaghan’s close friends, recognizes the challenges that her friend faces because of her hectic schedule.

 She said, "Yes, Meaghan can be grumpy sometimes. But anyone who knows her knows she has good intentions."

 Another one of the many Summerville Union High School students who rely on Meaghan for advice, Kai Bannister, also argued against Meaghan's self-critical perspective and said, "Even when Meaghan is in a bad mood, she still shows concern for others over herself. She's a life saver."

 He added, “She most often gives positive advice, no matter her present mood.”

 Recognizing that her lack of sleep is a catalyst to her “short temper” and admitting that “it's hard to focus” in class, Meaghan struggles to balance a never-ending list of current and future responsibilities.

***

 With every minute dedicated to some responsibility, Meaghan never stops moving. She is constantly working to fulfill one or more obligations.

 Meaghan’s motivation for her efforts so far are unclear, even to herself. She admitted, “I don't know, to be honest,” with distinct sincerity in her voice.

 Reflecting upon whether any of her efforts have been worth it up to this point, Meaghan said, “No. Not at all. Not at all actually.”

 This concise answer, accompanied by a sad laugh, indicated that she has gained nothing tangible from her enormous dedication so far.

***

 There is a small group of students on this campus who can truly empathize with Meaghan.  Simultaneously enrolled in AP, Honors, and otherwise challenging classes, this busy group of individuals also makes up a large portion of the school’s athletes, ASB leaders, and club members.

 These high-intensity frontrunners push themselves to accomplish as much as they can in their high school careers; they have taken "be involved" to a new extreme. Some try to tackle too much, but others manage to achieve all of their goals in a graceful manner.

 Mr. Smith, an English, AP History, and Software Technology teacher at Summerville, teaches and previously coached academically-motivated teenagers in the past.

 He believes that “it's not bad when people try to do everything; they just have to be able to put up boundaries and set the 'point of no return.'”

 Mr. Smith suggested students try to keep their lives in perspective and realize when they have become overloaded. He said they need to be able “to say ‘okay, once I've hit this wall, and now I don't feel like I'm sleeping, I don't feel very confident, and my work is suffering,’ and take a step back. Maybe they don't play the sport anymore, or maybe they ask for the coach to give them a reprieve to miss practice for a few days until they can get their bearings and get everything figured out.”

 While Mr. Smith trusts that these students' intentions are on the right track, he said that often “what's happened is it's a case of miscalculating what they can do and sometimes assuming that everything will be fine.”

 It’s a fine line between success and disaster for these motivated individuals; an extra commitment can mean drowning in a sea of slide shows, long bus rides, and rallies.

 Mr. Smith advocates involvement in sports, particularly for a “student who's trying to do the regular allotment of classes and [has] a study skills built in, then I think it's always positive.”

 Participation in sports not only helps students to remain physically fit, it can relieve stress by taking their minds off of their problems.

 He recognizes, however, that “it becomes negative when you have a student who really wants to place a premium on academics. Then it can be problematic if it is not managed properly. But I think those are usually isolated cases.”

 These select few often become caught up in trying to perform well in all areas of their busy lives in order to justify their numerous commitments. While a student strives for a high GPA, a starting position on his or her team, a leadership position in ASB or clubs, and harmony in their relationships - and often succeed in all or most of these - they may also unknowingly put an extraordinary strain on themselves.

***

 By achieving these goals, it is possible for them to rationalize the sacrifices made along the way. These students want to prove that they can manage everything they have signed up for. A common sentiment among high-achieving students is a dislike of constant advice received arguing they must decrease their workload.

 Meaghan asserts that it has made her “really mad”; when this well-intentioned advice was given - presumably feeling more like an insult than assistance - students felt as though those individuals were criticizing their ability to manage a busy schedule.

 Constantly multi-tasking and tracking progress towards completing homework assignments and reaching goals, these students are often mentally exhausted. Organization is essential; without a structured schedule, their lives fall to chaos. Though homework time is precious, it is often difficult to get started, and Meaghan said it often takes her forty-five minutes to an hour and a half. This can be attributed to the enormity of the task.

 This constant jumble of tasks prevents these students from ever getting necessary rest. Unfortunately, though they clearly have the ability to accomplish extremely difficult tasks and manage hectic schedules, these same talented individuals are pulled in many different direction; at least one aspect of their lives generally suffers.

The ultimate question becomes: will these sacrifices be worth it in the end? Meaghan anxiously said, “I sure hope so.”

At my high school, there is a certain demographic of students which make up a large percentage of the leadership, club members, and honors students. I decided to write an article about one such girl and detail the reality of her situation.