Your Parents Accidentally Taught You to Ignore Your Own Voice

Tyler was sixteen. Earbuds in. Eyes on screen. Barely talking to anyone. His dad sat across from me trying to figure out where things went wrong. "He used to be so full of life. He played guitar, drew incredible sketches, talked about designing video games. Now he just… exists." I asked when he last saw Tyler truly come alive. "Maybe two years ago? He was working on this animation project, stayed up all night, couldn't stop talking about it. But then school got harder, we pushed him toward 'practical' subjects, and..." "You watched his fire go out."