Teenage wasn't supposed to look like this.
I had really hoped that the blog I wrote about the Pahalgam killings would be the first and last one I’d ever write about such a horrendous incident. Alas, I guess, my generation will have to see this. I’ve never felt this kind of fear before. The kind that lingers in the back of the mind every second of every day, these days. And I’ve already lived through a pandemic, wars on TV, climate breakdowns, school shootings from afar, and now this—mock drills and blackouts like it’s all part and parcel of living. But it’s not. None of this is. The air feels... wrong. I’ve grown up in a free country, surrounded by laughter, chaos, music, and dreams. I’ve walked home late after dance class, had sudden dinner plans with friends, sat through boring school days only to come home and laugh with my family over lunch and chai. But right now? Everything feels different. Heavy. Tense. Quiet in a way that isn’t peaceful. The India-Pakistan tensions at the moment aren’t just headli...