“Use this to build something of your own,” he wrote.
“Not because you owe anyone anything, but because you are capable—and I want you to walk your own path with confidence.”
Reading his letter helped me understand why the argument had felt so heavy. My parents weren’t trying to hurt me. They were overwhelmed, stretched thin, and trying to do what they thought was best for the household. They saw the inheritance as a solution. But my grandfather saw it as an opportunity—not for the family, but for me. And if I handed it over, I would be repeating the same old pattern: sacrificing my needs to fix problems that weren’t mine to solve.
