My world is not that of the ordinary. It is one that is filled with sunrises and sets that can break your very heart. It is one with striking coincidences. It is one with the magic of water. It is one with woodland creatures living around the house, the most unlikely of friendships, true love, tragedy, angels, demons, signs, and songs. It is a world that constantly shows its astounding landscapes. I have explored castles and foreign lands. I have found secret groves and treasures. I have an off-shore foreign bank account. I have aliases. I am an award winning speaker and calligrapher. I actually have counterfeit money (it was given to me as “change”; I didn’t make it). I own a small portion of Venice. I have been kicked out of congressional grounds, been pushed aside by presidential guards, slept in haunted temples, trekked trackless miles, set foot on entirely new ground, followed ancient dramas in situ, hid from ministers of culture, seen Dracula’s tomb, and climbed the mountain Olympus as far as mortals would allow. I have felt the miracle of timelines and the curse of rejection. I have been a stitch in the fabric, shaping the world to my will, created worlds in my mind, on paper, and microcosms of the actual world. I have been swept away in powers much greater than myself, entranced by the creations of others. I have lived practically every tragic love story. I have met temptation in dream and reality and overcome. I have been solidly and emphatically connected to the feelings of all humanity as their songs sing the words of my soul. I have lived a life that others cannot believe. There have been once in a lifetime opportunities enacted so much as to come near boredom, yet I still wonder at the experience. People have sung my praises as I have stood aloof. I have been on journeys of the soul, fractured and repaired my own mind, stood by the thrones of kings, created my own throne, been the object of cameras and admiration, served as an animal on display, and touched hearts and minds.

In all of these things, I can say fantasy living is by far my haven and heaven. It is a lonely road, but the wonders of the world of exploring oneself and one’s capabilities are very worth the price. I believe I am blessed in most things, and I know and appreciate the value of hard work. The number of times that something has happened to me that I think this doesn’t happen to normal people gives me moment to pause and appreciate that there have been extraordinary things in my life. Adventures have led to prosperity and to love. I hope too that they will lead to wisdom. It is a very real goal in my life to be as Dumbledore. The three characters I identify with most are from fantasy: Raistlin, the Phantom, and Kvothe. It is very hard for me to accept reality, that there may not be a fairy-tale ending when so much of my life follows not the anecdotes of those around me, but the stories I read in fantasy. I have felt the struggles of Raistlin’s ostracism and held the multiverse together with my will. I have lived the unrequited-yet-mutual love of Kvothe. I have been past the point of no return as the Phantom.