Exile is a cold and unyielding place. We exile that which we can no longer stand, the things we find most reprehensible. Crimes against humanity? Adult contemporary music? Disagreement with the Pope? See ya later, Hilter, Michael Bolton, and Dante! 

Exile can also be self-imposed. We can choose to exile ourselves from a part or all of society. I will never eat at that Eastside Mario's again. Ever. In choosing exile, do we also not choose a certain freedom? Freedom from the things (or ideas) that bind us to our past? Freedom to be whoever we want, away from the things that defined us in our previous lives. Exile is certainly not for the faint of heart, but neither is February in Ottawa.