A mother,woman and everything in-between.

Sometimes, I think we are too quick to judge a single mother without waiting to ask ourselves how she came to be in such a situation. People see a woman raising a child alone and say, “She’s so strong.” And yes, she is. But sometimes, she doesn't want to be strong. Sometimes, she wants to be held too. Sometimes, she wants someone to ask her, “Are you okay?” and genuinely stay long enough to hear the answer. Because being a single mother isn't just about taking care of a child. It's waking up every morning knowing that someone depends on you, even when you don't feel okay yourself. It's making decisions alone. It's worrying about school fees, food, clothes, rent, health, and the future. It's being both the comfort and the discipline, the provider and the protector. And sometimes, it's pretending everything is fine because you don't want your child to see you falling apart. There are nights when she probably lies in bed thinking about all the things she could have done differently. She wonders if she's doing enough. She wonders if her child will understand one day. She wonders how she's going to handle the next bill, the next problem, the next difficult day. And yet, the next morning, she gets up. She prepares the food. She goes to work. She takes care of her child. She smiles. She keeps moving. Not because she isn't tired, but because she doesn't always have the luxury of stopping. And I think that's the part people don't talk about enough. A single mother can love her child deeply and still feel overwhelmed. She can be grateful for her child and still wish she had more support. She can be happy for the life she's building and still grieve the life she once imagined. Those feelings can exist at the same time. She doesn't need to be ashamed of admitting that motherhood is hard. She doesn't need to apologize for needing help. She doesn't need to prove that she can do everything alone just because life forced her to. And most importantly, being a single mother doesn't mean she failed. Sometimes relationships end. Sometimes people leave. Sometimes circumstances change in ways nobody planned for. And sometimes, a woman finds herself raising a child in a reality she never imagined for herself. But the circumstances of her motherhood do not define her worth. She is still allowed to have dreams. She's still allowed to fall in love. She's still allowed to have bad days. She's still allowed to laugh, dress up, go out, build a career, start over, and become the woman she wants to be. She is more than someone's mother. She is a woman who is still growing, still learning, still healing, and still trying to build a beautiful life for herself and her child. And to the child of a single mother, I hope you understand something someday: your mother may not have had everything, but she gave you what she could. You may not have seen the sacrifices when you were young. You may not have understood why she was always tired, why she worried so much, or why she sometimes seemed distant. But one day, you may look back and realize that some of the things you considered normal were actually sacrifices. The meal on the table. The clothes you wore. The school you attended. The little things she bought even when money was tight. The way she protected you from problems you were too young to understand. Those things may have come at a cost you never saw. So, before judging a single mother, remember that you are looking at only one chapter of her story. You don't know what she survived. You don't know what she sacrificed. You don't know how many times she cried in private and still walked outside with a smile. You don't know how many times she wanted to give up but remembered that a little person was depending on her. And maybe that's what makes her story so powerful. She didn't choose every part of her journey. But she chose to keep going. She chose to love. She chose to provide. She chose to show up. And even on the days when she doesn't feel strong, she is still doing something incredibly brave,raising a human being while trying to find herself along the way. So, to every single mother who feels like she's not doing enough: You are doing more than you realize. You don't have to be perfect. You don't have to have all the answers. You don't have to carry everything silently. You are allowed to rest. You are allowed to ask for help. You are allowed to have a life outside motherhood. And you are allowed to be proud of yourself. Because one day, your child may not remember every sacrifice you made. But they will remember the love. They will remember that you were there. And hopefully, they will grow up knowing that the woman who raised them was not simply a “single mother.” She was their home. And although I had the luxury of being raised by both parents, I can't help but say a wonderful thank you to all single mothers out there for choosing their child over society's approval. It's not nice seeing the way single mothers and their children are looked at in societies today,some believe they're undeserving of love. Some believe they are undeserving of a second chance of finding happiness. But I want to show my support to all single moms out there with this piece,that you're all deserving of love and happiness. It's okay to have wished you did things differently but still choosing your child over all else just shows how strong you are. you're still a mother,a woman and everything else in-between.

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