Stupid Dreams ~ BitterSweetLife

Monday, April 25, 2005

Stupid Dreams

I’m one of those people who inadvertently disprove Freudian psychology at every turn. I attack Freud’s most vulnerable juncture, which is incidentally mine as well. In this arena, Freud is somewhat exposed, and I’m entirely unconscious. We’re both at a disadvantage, but I tend to come out on top.

My dreams, when I remember them, never make sense according to Freud’s rubric…or any other system that I’ve come across. However, the pattern is occasionally broken, which is the case with a recurring dream I’ve been having lately.

In this dream, I suddenly come to the realization that I’ve almost missed the entire semester of a crucial class. How it happens is never quite clear. Apparently I skip a class period once or twice as a matter of convenience early on, and then, as a result, completely forget that I’m enrolled in the class. In my dream, the awful realization always dawns a week before finals. You can easily imagine the “anxiety” that results.

Last night, the dream came again, but with a notable wrinkle. Not only did I miss the class, but now it turns out that it would have been one of my favorite classes—Philosophy of Religion. In the past, the class title had always been vague, withheld, no doubt, in order to be dramatically introduced at a later time.

How exactly one forgets, for an entire semester, that one is enrolled in a class one has anticipated since starting school defies logic. That, of course, is part of the dream’s horror.

However, if unconscious academic stress means conscious academic swagger, I’m all for it. I’m not backing down. So get this.

Not only am I aware of all my classes, but I attend them all—huh? huh? And not only do I attend, I take notes!—got that? And beyond notes, I’m keeping up! Exams drop behind me like 2-foot bank shots! Quizzes fall like free throws! I laugh at reading assignments, yo! I deal with papers like deposit slips! Ha ha! How do you like them apples?

Stupid dreams must be dealt with forcefully.



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5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Many people have this dream. I have it at least four or five times a year. It doesn't matter if you have are in school or in the working world or, as in your case, both. It would be facinating to know the reason for this seemingly commonplace dream or nightmare, as the cas may be. I am sure the answer lies somewhere in the common pressures we face to be responsible, dependable "I can handle it all" type of people.

Paula said...

I never have that one, or the naked one. For many years now, my most vivid dreams are of tidal waves and drowning situations. Sometimes my dreams appear in written form and I read them in my sleep. Those are usually weird situations with old boyfriends and peeps from a zillion years ago. The water ones are never written.

AJ said...

Flying dreams are the best.

J.R.R. Tolkien had dreams about gigantic tidal waves, which he incorporated in the LOTR books, so you're in good company, Paula.

Thanks for the moral support - I'm relieved to hear that the "forgotten class" dream is not uncommon. I had no idea it ranked up there with the "naked in a crowd" dream! And I thought I was dreaming something new...

Anonymous said...

forgotten class dream is way better than forgetetn exams dreams . i always have them day before my exams.

Anonymous said...

mean forgotten exams. i tend to get dyslexic at times

 

Culture. Photos. Life's nagging questions. - BitterSweetLife