The Line of Life — From A to C - Manisha Khanna

What do you see???   number 13, alphabet M, symbol of McDonald's in reverse, alphabet W, and a few assumptions. Right!

 Now, what do you see? 

A — B — C.

It looks simple, doesn’t it?

When we look at B standing alone, we make assumptions.

It looks uncertain, directionless, incomplete.

But the moment we place A before it and C after it, everything changes.

Suddenly, B has meaning — it becomes a journey, not a mistake.

This is the story of adolescence.

At A, life begins simple — a straight line full of purpose, innocence, and clarity.
Then comes B, the bend — that confusing space where identity blurs.
Adolescents stand here, between childhood and adulthood, searching for who they are and where they belong.

In this search, they turn to the easiest mirror they can find — the mirror of society, peers, and screens. Every like, every follow, every comment becomes a reflection of worth. But it’s a fragile mirror, one that cracks under the weight of comparison.

They see the success, not the struggle. They see the filtered faces, not the unseen effort. They see the highlight reels, not the rewrites.

What was once a journey of self-discovery has become a quest for approval.

The mind starts to equate validation with value. Shortcuts replace effort. When the likes don’t come, anger rises. When popularity doesn’t follow, burnout begins. The mind grows restless, the body disengaged, and the spirit unsure.

The B stage is filled with doubt, anxiety, and exhaustion — a bend that feels like a breakdown.
But B was never meant to stand alone.

When adolescents reconnect with their A — their roots, their values — and discover their C — their purpose, their potential — something shifts. The confusion softens. The curve straightens. They begin to see that the bend was not a detour, but a design — a necessary part of growth.

The truth is, the line was never broken — only bent. The self was never lost — only searching.

And the journey back to self begins the moment the adolescent pauses the scroll, silences the noise, and listens inward.

Because real identity doesn’t live in pixels. It lives with purpose.

So the question is:
Are we helping our adolescents move from B to C?
Or are we keeping them trapped in the endless scroll of confusion?

Please send your responses to mk@learningforward.org.in. We look forward to receiving your thoughtful insights.

Manisha Khanna

The common humanity look through the night - Reveda Bhatt

Picture Courtesy: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=458675426302602&set=a.458675399635938&locale=sk_SK

So, creeping up and about was the full moon in the night skies above the small town of Nashville. The wind blew hard and soft simultaneously, for there was no hard and fast rule. The crackling dried-up leaves swirled around in the dusty wind when they dropped on the curled-up hairs of the little girl. Out in the lonesome night was she, dressed in an elegant frilled frock with chubby cheeks and a pink tinge on the skin as if she were a Barbie! Barring her from the mist falling was her small umbrella. Her name was Eleanor. 

Now, Nashville had supposedly never been famous for a "Night Life," but seeing the little girl roam about the town in the starry night, residents drew down their curtains so that their children could not see her stroll around, as every toddler craves to; otherwise, they'd blabber, "Oh, Mama! Oh, Daddy! Can't we walk through the night!?"

The town had always been prone to theft and dacoits, so that was a significant reason for not allowing their children out at night. Oh! But there was our robust and fearless toddler out in the dark, for she was not like the others! Really! But as every strong person has a story, so does she. 

Having had a "good" life for approximately two years, which she hardly remembered, later comprised of her parents having problems with each other, days of arguments and violence, and as though that weren't enough, she was asked by each of them personally, "You sure do like me more for the other's not worth!" The child, up in confusion, looked at them with wonder-waiting eyes, for she wished for them to stop soon.

Well, they did, when one morning, when the girl was old enough, she woke up and saw her Mother's stuff gone, for she had stormed out and left the house at midnight, leaving her just a note, saying, "Mama loves you!" by her pillow. And just like that, she, who had been her Mom's part, had been left behind with just a note she carried everywhere. Even on that chilling night, it had been in her coat's inward safe spot. Let alone the father, for he, who was involved in drinking and making merry so much, that Eleanor had given up on him and ran through having nowhere to live but at least somewhere, away from her life otherwise. 

Now, probably, you know the reason why she "strolled" around. As for the fear of dacoits, nothing scared her; she had become fearless, seeing all she had seen, doing all she had done. But life has its ways of making the brave one feel better every night, for even she, who was fearless, had a heart like any other, which may be hard on the outside but was still that tender one on the inside. 

Well, that's what binds all of us together in life, Common Humanity!

Reveda Bhatt 
Grade X || The Aryan School