Quote Origin: I’m Not Crazy. My Reality Is Just Different Than Yours

Posted byquoteresearch

Lewis Carroll? Cheshire Cat? J.C. Penney Department Store? Sue? Apocryphal? Anonymous?

Illustration of the Cheshire Cat by John Tenniel

Question for Quote Investigator: The famous English fantasy author Lewis Carroll has been credited with a statement about nonconformity. Here are two versions:

(1) I’m not crazy; my reality is just different than yours.
(2) I’m not strange, weird, off, nor crazy, my reality is just different from yours.

I am skeptical of this attribution because I have never seen a solid citation. Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: QI has found no substantive evidence supporting the ascription to Lewis Carroll.

The earliest match located by QI appeared in January 2008 within a Usenet message posted by a person using the handle Sue in the newsgroup alt.fiftyplus. The remark was part of the signature block of the message. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:1

I’m not crazy, my reality is just different than yours.

It is possible that Sue crafted the remark, but QI conjectures that Sue was repeating a remark that was already in circulation. Thus, the originator remains anonymous.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

In May 2008 a tweet from the handle xtribas contained the remark:2

I’m not crazy, my reality is just different than yours.

In October 2009 a message in the Google Group Stargate: Skywatch described a coffee cup which displayed the remark. The Google Group was centered on a role-playing game set in the universe of the science fiction series Stargate SG-1:3

He snagged a coffee cup that said ‘I’m not crazy – my reality is just different than yours.’ He poured it mostly full, and topped it off with cream before taking the offered seat.

In August 2010 a newspaper in Coshocton, Ohio printed a multipage advertisement for the department store J. C. Penney. The saying without an attribution appeared emblazoned on a T-shirt shown within the advertisement. Two of the words were capitalized:4

I’m not CRAZY my reality is just DIFFERENT than yours

In February 2011 the saying without an attribution appeared in a tweet made by the handle ValerieCheshire:5

i’m not crazy! my reality is just different than yours

In March 2011 the saying appeared in a tweet by the handle ZakouNenharma. The statement was credited to the Cheshire Cat character, which is best known for its appearance in “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” by Lewis Carroll:6

“I’m not crazy. My reality is just different than yours.” ~ Cheshire Cat

In January 2012 a tweet from the handle Kementarrii credited the saying to “Alice in Wonderland”:7

“I’m not crazy. My reality is just different than yours” (Carroll – Alice in Wonderland)

In April 2012 the handle sTAYrAY15 tweeted a more elaborate version of the saying while crediting Lewis Carroll:8

“I’m not strange, weird, off, nor crazy, my reality is just different from yours.” – Lewis Carroll

In 2015 the “Chicago Tribune” of Illinois printed a column by Steve Chapman which attributed the elaborate version of the saying to the Cheshire Cat character:9

He could say, like Lewis Carroll’s Cheshire Cat, “I’m not strange, weird, off, nor crazy, my reality is just different from yours.”

In 2024 “Uncle John’s Action-Packed Bathroom Reader” included the following entry:10

“I am not crazy; my reality is just different from yours.” —Cheshire Cat, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

In conclusion, there is no substantive support for the ascription to Lewis Carroll who died in 1898. This article presents a snapshot of current knowledge.

The short version of the saying appeared in January 2008 as a humorous self-deprecating remark. The first match located by QI occurred in message from Sue in the Usenet newsgroup alt.fiftyplus; however, QI conjectures that the saying was already in circulation, and the originator remains unknown.

Initial instances provided no ascriptions. The Cheshire Cat character implausibly received credit in March 2011. Lewis Carroll received credit for the longer version of the saying in April 2012.

Image Notes: Illustration of the Cheshire Cat by John Tenniel. The image has been cropped and resized.

Acknowledgement: Great thanks to snarkhunt whose inquiry led QI to formulate this question and perform this exploration.

  1. Usenet discussion message, Timestamp: Jan 19, 2008, 5:20:26 PM, Newsgroup: alt.fiftyplus, From: Sue, Subject: Oh my goodness! (Google Groups Search; Accessed November 18, 2025) link ↩︎
  2. X-Tweet, From: tribas @xtribas, Timestamp: 3:48 AM – May 19, 2008, Text: I’m not crazy, my reality is just different than yours. (Accessed on x.com on November 11, 2025) link ↩︎
  3. Google Group message, Timestamp: Oct 4, 2009, 2:46:28 PM, Google Group: Stargate: Skywatch, From: Kitty, Subject: SG5 – Give the Ki a clue – Sawyer/Cochraine/Svaboda. (Google Groups Search; Accessed November 18, 2025) link ↩︎
  4. 2010 August 19, Coshocton Tribune, Section: Multipage advertisement from department store J. C. Penney, Quote Page 7, Column 3, Coshocton, Ohio. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎
  5. X-Tweet, From: Valeria Emiree @ValerieCheshire, Timestamp: 2:00 PM, Feb 9, 2011, Text: i’m not crazy! my reality is just different than yours. (Accessed on x.com on December 1, 2025) link ↩︎
  6. X-Tweet, From: LinDa @ZakouNenharma, Timestamp: 10:05 AM, Mar 26, 2011, Text: “I’m not crazy. My reality is just different than yours.” ~ Cheshire Cat. (Accessed on x.com on December 1, 2025) link ↩︎
  7. X-Tweet, From: Chantelle Clark @Kementarrii, Timestamp: 12:32 PM, Jan 27, 2012, Text: “I’m not crazy. My reality is just different than yours” (Carroll – Alice in Wonderland). (Accessed on x.com on December 1, 2025) link ↩︎
  8. X-Tweet, From: Staci Ray @sTAYrAY15, Timestamp: 11:38 PM, Apr 14, 2012, Text: “I’m not strange, weird, off, nor crazy, my reality is just different from yours.” – Lewis Carroll. (Accessed on x.com on December 1, 2025) link ↩︎
  9. 2015 February 12, Chicago Tribune, Misusing the Constitution to ban same-sex marriage by Steve Chapman, Quote Page 22, Column 1, Chicago, Illinois. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎
  10. 2024, Uncle John’s Action-Packed Bathroom Reader by the Bathroom Readers’ Institute, Volume 37, Section: Talking Cats, Unnumbered Page, Portable Press / The Bathroom Readers’ Institute, An Imprint of Printers Row Publishing Group, San Diego, California. (Google Books Preview) ↩︎