The big idea for LUCKY HIGH came to me one night when I was thinking about the hyper-demanding landscape our kids have today. Having two kids this was top of mind. The idea came to me when my oldest had just started high school. I was reflecting on their reality compared to previous generations. School, and the path to college, does not seem to have become any easier. If anything, students today have packed curriculums with constant testing and scads of homework that seem to defy what is humanly possible to do in a day. Add the fact the bar seems to be constantly raised to get into a good college. Great GPA? Definitely needed. Great SAT and ACT scores? Of course! Extracurricular activities? Are you a scholar athlete? Do you volunteer time for great causes that “round out” your profile? Do you have a part-time job, learning real skills? Are you taking enough AP level courses? Are you in a high school that is considered a top school? Does it have a track record of getting its students into the best colleges? And so on, and so on.

How many parents can relate to the idea that your alma mater probably wouldn’t accept you today with the standards those colleges have now? It’s like we’re trying to build the perfect prototype. Ramp up youth to being these super performers. This applies to scholastics and athletics. Stronger, smarter, better! And in many cases our kids today are. Just go to any feeder program for athletics. See what 12-year-olds can do on the field in any sport: football, soccer, baseball, softball, lacrosse, tennis. They’re incredible! By the time they get to high school they’re playing at levels that only college athletes did back in my day.

LUCKY HIGH takes this premise. It’s the best school. The kids are constantly told how lucky they are to attend a school that practically guarantees they are getting into the top colleges. The best athletes go to the school. They have the best teachers. The best coaches. These kids are the crème de la crème and they have mile-high ambitions. They’re going to play in the NFL. Be an Olympic athlete. Discover the cure for cancer. Become titans of finance! And they’re well on their way.

But it’s all a lie.

Yep. There it is. THE BIG IDEA. What if our kids today were being lied to? Their future was being stolen from them? 

What if there was no life for these students after high school?

Well with this big idea came this story. Sci-fi in this case. With a badass heroine. Name is Elle. And she’s not going peacefully into the night.