Private Story
Ezra Komo
Ezra Komo, 25, he/him, small business owner, female to male trans man, drag king, advocate, poly and pansexual, Marine veteran, Columbia, MO (raised in Central Missouri.) 9/16/2021
"One who never turned his back but marched breast forward,
Never doubted clouds would break,
Never dreamed, though right were worsted, wrong would triumph,
Held we fall to rise, are baffled to fight better,
Sleep to wake."
-Epilogue by Robert Browning (3rd stanza)
I read this poem first when I was 13 and since then it has served as a reminder for me. It is what I'd consider my life anthem and a guideline of sorts to live by. To me, it speaks to the importance of optimism and trusting the natural order that our experiences tend to take.
Like everyone I've had my share of experiences that ate at my soul and some that took whole pieces of it. Still, adopting the mentality that Browning depicts is what has gotten me through the worst parts of my life and allowed me to heal. Like, every piece of me that has been taken or destroyed by my experiences has always healed and regenerated.
Whether it's coming out, recovering from a breakup, losing a parent, or opening a new venture everything has a process it follows. That process could be positive or negative, but the gist is that life happens and life continues to move on.
So, if I left any sort of imprint on this world I hope that it reflects that mentality: look for opportunity and don't get caught up on the negatives, because everything has a natural process that it will follow.
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