My Ideal World

I grew up out of that strange, dreamy childhood of mine and went into the world of reality. I met with experiences that bruised my spirit―but they never harmed my ideal world. That was always mine to retreat into at will.

I learned that my world and the real world clashed hopelessly and irreconcilably; and I learned to keep them apart so that the former might remain for me unspoiled. I learned to meet other people on their own ground since there seemed to be no meeting place on mine.

I learned to hide the thoughts and dreams and fancies. I found that it was useless to look for kindred souls in the multitude; one might stumble on such here and there, but as a rule it seemed to me that the majority of people lived for the things of time and sense alone and could not understand my other life.

―L.M. Montgomery

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