2007-06-29

High School Dreams

Here�s my theory today: the common thread that binds us together in our humanity? Dreams about high school.

In mine, I�ve usually gotten about three-quarters of the way through the semester without attending some class that I absolutely need in order to graduate. What�s weird about this is that I�m there with the knowledge that I�ve received my Bachelor�s and Master�s degrees. But I�m still in a blind animal panic about not getting my high school diploma.

I mentioned this to my friend at work and she said, �Oh, in mine I�ve forgotten my locker combination. And for some reason, I never have shoes on.�

Intrigued, I started roaming around the office, asking my coworkers if they have these kinds of dreams.

�It�s usually that I�ve got a term paper due,� said another coworker, �Or it�s the day before the school newspaper is being printed and we haven�t done anything. So I guess they�re more about meeting deadlines than being in high school.�
�Well, yeah�I think they�re always about some other issue; it�s just that the dreams take place within the framework of high school.�
�My mother always has this dream where she can�t find her Math class. It�s in Room 101, and she can find Room 100 and Room 102, but not Room 101.�
�Huh. Every single time?�
�Every single time.�
�Interesting.�
�Oh, and she told me that they closed her high school and turned the building into condominiums. She and my dad went to check it out, you know, just out of curiosity.�
�Did they find Room 101?�

(An aside � I would never, never live in my high school. In ANYONE�S high school. Sure, you�ve probably got nice high ceilings and big windows, but the mojo in there would be gnarly. Years and years of teenaged angst soaked up into those walls like some sort of giant psychic tampon. The only thing worse would be living in a former junior high school.)

Finally, I went into my gay boyfriend�s office. �John Michael, do you ever have high school dreams?�
�What do you mean?�
�You know, dreams that take place in high school.�
�Um�.no, I don�t think so.�
�REALLY?�
�I mean, not that I can recall. Why?�
I explained my theory. He listened, and asked, �So does this make me some sort of FREAK?�
�Well, that just goes without saying, darling.�

So now I turn it to you, chickens. Do you have high school dreams, shoeless or otherwise? Do tell.

lisamcc at 11:12 a.m.



3 comments so far
vikkitikkitavi
2007-06-29 11:47:01
Actually, mine take place in my junior high school, which was one of those beautiful but spooky early 20th century mammoths. My high school was built in, like, 1972, and is not nearly as evocative a setting. In my dreams, I am trying to get to my class, but the floor that the class is on is only accessible by a knotted rope, or a trellis, or some crazy M.C. Escher-esque staircase with no banister, and kooky angles, and treads that slant downward and are slippery and impossible to climb. Even writing that much has made me anxious.
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Spooney
2007-06-29 12:01:14
Fuck yeah, I have the "suddenly realizing that I haven't been going to a class" dream a lot. It's usually gym class, but no one has said anything to me about it. So I'm wondering in the dream if I've flown under the radar somehow. I also have the "can't remember my locker combination", the "can't find my shedule" one, and the "can't find my classroom one" Jesus, WTF?
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Andrea
2007-06-29 18:49:47
I have two recurring high school dreams. In the first, it is usually towards the end of the year and I realize I never went to a couple of classes that I need in order to graduate (glad I'm not the only one who has this nightmare!)- panic sets in when I can't remember what classes they are or where they are. I always end up trying to get a list of classes so that I can finally show up. I hate this dream- I always wake up on edge and anxious. In my other high school dream, I never remembered my locker combination. However, the dream slowly evolved over the years and then one night I had the dream and actually remembered the combo. I've never had that dream since.
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