I always believed it was the things you don't choose that makes you who you are.

"I always believed it was the things you don't choose that makes you who you are. Your city, your neighborhood, your family. People here take pride in these things, like it was something they'd accomplished. The bodies around their souls, the cities wrapped around those. I lived on this block my whole life; most of these people have. [...] This city can be hard. When I was young, I asked my priest how you could get to heaven and still protect yourself from all the evil in the world. He told me what God said to His children. 'You are sheep among wolves. Be wise as serpents, yet innocent as doves.'"

These lines truly express how we find our identity in things that we have no control over. While we do have control over many parts of our lives, we often so strongly identify ourselves by our city or our neighborhood or our "people." The culture in which we are raised shapes us and gives us so much pride.

The last lines (about the priest) is an amazing line simply because it speaks to the evil and corruption in the world. By being vigilant and careful, we can see the evil and be smart while maintaining our "innocence."