Pinch Me

I stared wide-eyed out the window into the starry night. My stomach dropped lower with each turn we sped around. Sitting in the back of the cop car, the sirens rung in my ears. We twisted down the mountainside, three girls crammed in the backseat, each of us too scared to beg the officer to slow down. He turned his back to the winding road and looked at us, laughing maliciously at our fright. That was the last thing I remember from that night. Because at that moment, it was time to turn off my alarm clock, roll out of bed, and start my day.
This is the dream I had last night. I know I have dreams every night, because the feeling will come back to me at some point during the day but I still won’t be able to remember the actual dream. Yet other times, like today, I wake up and easily remember what happened. Why do we remember some dreams more than others?
Because my dreams are the first thing I think about when I wake up, it is no surprise that I will think about it throughout the day too. Sometimes I share my dreams with my friends if it is especially intriguing or if they were a part of it. What I really wonder is if our dreams have an impact on the way we live on a deeper level than just talking about it. Do they influence our attitudes toward certain people, our fears, our morals?
When I have an especially vivid dream, I try to find the source of what caused me to have that dream. Sometimes it will be about people I spent a lot of time with that day, sometimes the setting is from a movie I just watched, and often there are parts of my dream that are completely random and I cannot place what instigated the storyline. Usually my dreams include observations I made throughout the day but never gave much thought to until they reappear in my dream. How did my mind filter out what would appear again after the day’s events, especially if it was something I did not pay much attention to at the time? How representative are dreams of our deepest thoughts?
By gaining a deeper awareness about our dreams, we may be able to unveil hidden truths about ourselves that we are too afraid to admit.

The Little Things

“That’s beautiful.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Your laptop case. It’s beautiful.”

Thus began my conversation with the elderly man sitting next to me at a coffee shop downtown, who pointed at my peacock laptop case with his arthritic finger. His white hair stuck out in all directions and his neck was hidden behind a long beard. He sipped on his tea as our conversation spiraled into his wide array of travels, giving me envy as he told of his trips to each continent (even Antarctica). I asked him questions and he was enthusiastic to give me thorough answers. I taught him Spanish while I did my homework and he found interest in my environmental studies major. What began as a trip downtown to do homework in a new setting, ended with my mind filled with new thoughts and facts. Everyday is an opportunity to share your uniqueness with others. You never know what effect it may have on them.