I Was 17 When I Became a Mother—And That’s When My Real Battles Began. | by Colanda | Nov, 2025

I Was 17 When I Became a Mother—And That’s When My Real Battles Began.

I was 17 when I became a mother—and I thought my hardest days were behind me. I was wrong.

I have a daughter—a seven-year-old daughter. I was seventeen when I gave birth to her. I usually want to skip the story surrounding her birth because all that story brings to me is heartbreak, regret, and sometimes tears.

At some point in my life, I thought men were running from me because I was a single mother. And then Aboagye came along. A man who went around carrying his dreams on his shoulders. I don’t know which oracle spoke to him about his future, but this guy was so sure that he was going to be great in the future. He described himself with every fancy word that’s connected with wealth. The only problem was, he had no work. He has his certificates, plenty of them, but no work to do.

I gave him a chance in my life because he loved my daughter and my daughter loved him too. I remember one day, my daughter asked me, “Is Uncle Aboagye going to be my daddy?” That question hit me so hard. She had been starved of masculine affection for so long she wanted to cleave to this one that’s available. That’s the reason why I agreed to Aboagye moving into my house, though we were not married. It could also be the reason I allowed Aboagye to go see my family with a drink to perform the ‘knocking’ rite when I knew very well that he was…