I AM STILL BECOMING

I have lived

inside a body

the world sometimes notices

before it notices me.

I have known the glance

that asks a question

without speaking,

the silence that assumes

I cannot,

the door that seems to close

before I reach it.

Yes,

there have been days

when the weight was heavy—

when frustration sat beside me

and courage seemed

like a distant country.

But I learned something:

I am more than the limits

others place around me.

My disability is part of my story,

but it is not the whole story.

It has taught me

to listen differently,

to see beyond appearances,

to celebrate small victories

that others may never understand.

It has taught me

that strength is not always loud.

Sometimes strength

is simply getting up.

Sometimes it is trying again

after yesterday defeated you.

Sometimes it is saying,

with a trembling voice:

“I still believe

there is more in me.”

Do not measure my worth

by the speed of my steps,

the strength of my hands,

or the things I cannot do.

Measure me

by the love I give,

the work I offer,

the burdens I help carry,

the dreams I refuse to bury.

And do not give me pity

when what I need is opportunity.

Do not lower the horizon

because you think my journey is difficult.

Make the path accessible.

Open the door.

Give me a fair chance.

Then watch.

For I have discovered

that a limitation can become

a different way of moving,

a different way of thinking,

a different way of seeing the world.

I do not need to become

someone without disability

to become someone of consequence.

I need only the freedom

to become fully myself.

So here I stand—

not untouched,

not unbroken,

not without scars,

but still dreaming,

still serving,

still learning,

still creating,

still rising.

My story is not

a story of what disability took from me.

It is the story

of what life could not take away:

my dignity,

my voice,

my purpose,

my hope.

And if you ask me

who I am,

I will not begin

with what I cannot do.

I will tell you:

I am here.

I have a place.

I have something to give.

And I am still becoming.

— Kwesi Yirenkyi Boateng

     16 August 2026