I heard about it earlier today, when my mom called. Teared up like she gets when days like these come.

My uncle is 65 and never married, but not for the reason you think. He wasn't MGTOW or Red Pill, there was a rumor he had a girlfriend of sorts at one time. He is literally the last survivor of his generation, by more than a decade. He was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and was always confined to a wheelchair, all the rest born at the same time as him are all long since dead. I remember him when I was a kid, and he would be able to lift himself out of the wheelchair and sit in a regular chair.

What truths can I learn from the man's life, that I can maybe share? It's that you have to make the most with what you have. Despite his shortcomings, the man had a sharp mind. He could remember every birthday and anniversary in our entire extended family, and the way the man did math in his head was a site to see. He also loved baseball and that was something we talked about at length, he could quote stats and numbers for every player since he was a kid. He probably had all-star games that he played in his head, just for entertainment.

My grandmother refused to allow him to have a formal education beyond third grade (or maybe it was her alcoholic second husband, I don't really know) because kids like that never amount to anything and education is wasted on them. My grandmother always kept him on a tight leash and when someone suggested something to him that she didn't like, she would quickly silence the person. The thing is that my uncle would have been able to work into his early forties, had he been allowed an education and to pursue his own interests. He never was. It isn't what others would allow him to do.

None of us here are as physically limited as my uncle. We pretty much all got a chance to complete at least four years of high school, and most of us can choose to continue our education of our own accord and ability. Don't let yourself be in the position where someone else can control your quality of life to the point you have to do what they say even though you don't necessarily agree with it. As long as you are doing something to improve, don't doubt yourself. If someone else is cutting at you for making an effort to improve, cut that person out of your life, they don't need to be there. When somebody tells you that you can't, because you have this limitation or that limitation, don't believe it, surprise them.