u/Ambitious_Stick8110

I used to get irritated when my mom repeated same childhood stories again and again during dinner. I would say “yeah you already told this before”.

Yesterday she repeated one story again but this time she suddenly forgot few parts in middle and looked confused for few seconds.

She laughed it off but I saw it in her face.

I realized maybe she’s not repeating stories because she wants attention. Maybe she repeats them because those memories are the only things she still holds tightly.

And maybe she is scared of forgetting them one day.

I feel so guilty for being annoyed all these years honestly.

There is an old woman living alone in my apartment building. Few months ago ambulance came and suddenly all her children rushed to see her. After that they disappeared again.

Yesterday she told my mom something really painful. She said sometimes she tells her kids she not feeling well because otherwise nobody calls her. I cant stop thinking about that.

Imagine reaching an age where you have to fake sickness just to hear your own childrens voice. She spent her whole life taking care of them and now she eats dinner alone everyday. Growing old sounds really scary sometimes.

Last week I visited my grandfather after almost 4 months..... He looked happy but also weirdly quiet. He used to always call everyone asking when we coming over. This time he didnt even ask. While eating dinner he suddenly said, “I know everyone have their own life now.” That sentence broke me honestly.

He showed me old photos for almost 2 hours because he barely talks to anyone these days. His TV runs all day just so the house dont feel silent. Imagine spending your whole life raising people just to sit alone waiting for phone calls that never come.....

Old people dont always need money or gifts. Sometimes they just need somebody to sit beside them for little while......

I used to see this old man everyday at the park. Same time, same bench, same direction he stared at. One day I finally sit near him and asked if he waiting for someone. He smiled a little and said yes my son used to come here after work. I asked where is he now. He didn’t answer for few seconds, then said he moved to another city, busy life you know. But the way he said it didn’t felt real. Next day I brought him tea and he told me his son actually stopped visiting years ago. He still comes because he dont want to accept that some people leave forever. That day I realize loneliness is not loud, its very quiet and painful.

Everyone talks about wins. funding. growth. exits. nobody tells you about the nights you stare at your screen wondering if you just wasted years of your life

I started with a simple idea. felt smart. felt early. felt like this is it. first few weeks were exciting. posting everywhere. messaging people. building nonstop. I really thought users would just come if the product is good

they didn’t

first 50 people ignored me. next 100 didn’t care. the few who tried it never came back. that hurt more than hate honestly. silence is worst

I kept changing things. logo. landing page. features. pricing. everything except the real problem

no one actually needed what I was building

that realization hit hard. like physically heavy. I remember closing my laptop one night and just sitting there doing nothing for hours

but here’s what it taught me

building is easy. selling is everything
ideas are cheap. distribution is not
nobody owes you attention. you earn it
and most important one
your ego will destroy you faster than failure ever can

I stopped trying to be a founder and started trying to solve one real problem for one real person

things moved slowly. still not big. still figuring out. but now at least it feels real

if you’re in that phase where nothing is working
good. you’re closer than you think

just make sure you’re not lying to yourself like I was