More than a Carburetor Rebuild

I like motorcycles. I think. I've never actually ridden one but I've owned 3 non-working ones. I've since sold the first 2, but I've been determined to get this 3rd motorcycle to work and to do things the right way without cutting corners. Problem was, this bike had been sitting outside for 40 years. My mission then became to learn how to restore the motorcycle to working condition. To this end I've hung a piece of torn cardboard declaring "Be Patient, Don't be Stupid". The first step was tirelessly researching and watching videos and reading articles on how to repair and restore motorcycles. The wiring harness has been removed, the engine taken apart, and the forks rebuilt but this year the focus has been the carburetors.
I thought that this would be easy and straightforward. I would just take them apart and spray some carb cleaner throughout and it would be fixed. I couldn't have been more wrong. First, there was rust rust rust galore. Sitting so long had rusted the float bowl pin which had combined with the 40 year old gasoline creating a gooey mess. This was cleaned out, but then the what remained of the float needle needed to be removed. Both penetrating spray and a small flame was applied but the automatic center punch still broke off one of the posts. I don't know if the intense swearing or sinking feeling of disappointment came faster. Though I could have given up and bought an aftermarket carburetor, this moment and future struggles with the carburetors were met with determination. Not only would a new carburetor been pricey, but my heart hurt to throw away something so entirely original and totally fixable. For this break I bought some epoxy and cemented the post back in place.
My troubles were not over though. Despite careful twisting force, several jets, including the pilot jet, remained stuck and the soft brass began to strip. Even the leverage of pliers couldn't free the jet. In fact, the pliers just deformed the jets more! It was time for some penetrating spray and a little heat. Still nothing. An overnight soak in the oil must have made the difference because the next day a little heat and careful twisting broke it free and it began to unscrew! My high pitched squeal of excitement was definitely masculine and definitely not heard by our neighbors... But I finally held that tiny jet in my hand!
The vacuum slide piston and several other jets also struggled being removed. But now I had the recipe for success which I repeated again and again with tenacity.
Afterward: This tenacity fell in stark contrast to my emotionally neglected childhood self whose experience taught me to never push back against my authoritarian parents. Even owning a motorcycle rejected my parents' ideology that all motorcyclists were idiots with death wishes. So finding out that I loved motorcycles was surprising and a little bit empowering. Loving motorcycles was uniquely mine. Working on a self-discovered passion showed myself that I had value and was empowering. As corny as it may be, in essence, repairing this motorcycle has actually helped repair myself.