ADOLESCENCE UNRAVELLED

NAVIGATING THE STORM OF TEENAGE STRUGGLES

- UNNIKRISHNAN S @T'Puram

FIFTEEN-YEAR-OLD Varun (name changed) was always a well-behaved teenager, liked by his cousins and known for his quiet, introverted personality. He kept to himself and rarely caused any trouble. But recently, his parents began to notice unsettling changes. He started spending more time on his phone late into the night, and their interactions also began to dwindle. At first, they assumed it was just a normal teenage phase. But everything changed when the school called with devastating news — Varun had misbehaved with a girl at school, and her parents had filed a complaint.