Becoming Was Never The Failure
Read more poetry by Britt Wolfe
There is a story we are told
about unrealized potential—
that if we did not become
who we might have been,
it is because we hesitated,
chose poorly,
lacked courage.
But that story assumes
conditions that did not exist.
I did not fail to arrive
at some better version of myself.
I arrived precisely
where survival required me to stand.
I became efficient
because inefficiency was punished.
I became vigilant
because ease was unavailable.
I became durable
because fragility was not protected.
These were not character flaws.
They were strategies.
They kept me alive
inside circumstances
that did not reward becoming,
only enduring.
And endurance is not stasis.
It is labour.
There is no alternate self
waiting in the wings,
arms crossed, disappointed.
There is only the person
who learned to breathe
under pressure
and called it a life.
But survival is not the end of growth.
It is the beginning of choice.
What once had to be fixed
can now be explored.
What once needed armour
can now learn texture.
What once moved only forward
can now widen.
I am not behind.
I am not late.
I am transitioning
from necessity to intention.
The self I am becoming now
does not erase the one
who got me here.
She is not a mistake
to be corrected.
She is the foundation
that makes this next growth
possible.
And for the first time,
I am not becoming
to withstand.
I am becoming
because I finally can.
Keep My Words Alive
If this poem has stayed with you, you can help keep my words alive or explore more of my work. Every bit of support helps carry the stories forward.
WHERE WORDS MEET MORNING LIGHT
BEGIN EACH DAY WITH SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL
Every morning at 11:11AM, I send a poem — sometimes soft, sometimes devastating, always true.
💚 Subscribe now to read and breathe and feel along with me 💚
Poetry Anthologies by Britt Wolfe:
