in the beginning

You are born. You build yourself piece by piece. You construct a narrative. You become an individual, surrounding yourself with all that you love. You are wounded too, sometimes, and left scarred. Yet you become a heroic and unique embodiment of both the things you cherish and the things that cause you pain. as you grow into this living idea, you become instantly recognizable; among the billions of faces in the world, you become that which you think you are. You stand before the world and say, "I am here and this is who I am."

- Nick Cave, an Australian musician, from his "Stranger than Kindness" book.