Leo stared at the screen until the blue light felt like it was etching itself into his retinas. At sixteen, "teen life" wasn't the high-octane drama of the shows he watched; it was a series of quiet, heavy expectations. He was supposed to be the "gifted" one, the one who navigated high school with the ease of a veteran traveler, but most days, he just felt like he was failing at being a person.
Dear Abby: Teen gets a distant feeling from closest family members teeniegets
One Tuesday, while avoiding his biology homework, he found himself at the local mall—a place that felt like a relic from another era. He sat by the fountain, watching a group of younger kids try to look older, their laughter echoing off the half-empty storefronts. He remembered being that age, when the biggest worry was whether a girl liked his new jeans. Now, the worries were more complex: body image, social media's relentless noise, and the crushing anxiety of "making it". Leo stared at the screen until the blue