I think there’s a certain beauty, one inextricably linked to a kindred kind of evil, in that our individual present can’t escape its past. We must always be placing ourselves in relation to the religious, ethnic, and racialized institutions our existences are founded upon — whether we are inside them or outside, citizens or expatriates.

No matter what side of the walls we find ourselves on, I’m glad we can always rely on there being people beside us in our inclusion or exclusion. That when banished from our respective versions of Eden, we can (help each other) plant our own gardens where we are the ones who are the gatekeepers.

That, together, whether they like it or not, we can create our own damn homes.