About 20 years ago I was at a cocktail party telling a friend that I had had the ‘exam dream’. At the time I did not know it was universal. I had had the dream where I am at University and I am almost finished the year when a piece of paper slips out of a binder. It is my course schedule from that year and it has a course on it that I have NEVER attended. It is always an odd course like African Mythology or Precambrian Rock Formations. My heart stops and I realize no matter what I do, no matter how fast I work on my feet, if I cry, dance a jig, bribe the teacher or flirt unabashedly or even -another possible tactic- study my butt off for the final- I will still fail the course.
When I told this to my friend he told me -everyone has that dream. I could not believe it. We went around to many of the dozens of people there and asked. Everyone had had some form of this dream more than once.
I come from a long line of people who are good at winging it and most of the time we get away with murder. Often though, life requires a little planning and rehearsal. Life has surprises as well for which we can never be fully prepared.
Now that I have not been to school in so long – I no longer have the exam dream because so much time has passed since I have been a student. So maybe exam panic is a forgotten stress. Clearly, it has been replaced. Now my scary dream scenario involves me taking others down with me.
Last week I dreamt that a builder backed a dumpster into my driveway right over top of me.(see Every Day Is Christmas on my other blog). I was standing there frozen and mute- trying desperately to scream out ” I am here”. I could not and in slow motion it was lowered on top of me and I was flattened. It is a very good sign that I was devastated to be dead. In the very same night (double header), I dreamt that I had accepted the biggest part of an important production and had memorized none of it. Two things to note- I have never been able to act and the part was that of a character named John. So some talent and memorization would have been required
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I thought quickly for a solution minutes before showtime-post it notes, ‘feeling the part’ and ad libbing- and I quickly realized that it just was not going to come together. I had to tell them and disappoint everyone. They were furious. I fled the scene sheepishly and even in my sleep felt terrorized by guilt and shame.
Dreams- we apparently all have them- are meant to help us deal with our daily life or help us work out bottled up stress. They are necessary to clear the mind and feed the soul. Better than the bottle but often difficult to decipher.
In spite of it all, I woke up relieved, entertained and excited that I am alive and I know my part.
I know I wonder this too although when I look at my children with homework at night I think -thankfully I do not have to do that tonight-thanks for reading and letting us know that you have had the exam dream too!-n
It’s funny but I didn’t start having the exam dream until many years after I had successfully completed university by making it to and completing all my exams. Maybe that’s a sign that I am missing that part of my life?
When I travel I check that I have all the documents about 5 times and also can’t sleep the night before an early flight for fear my alarm won’t go off. I am glad you don’t have the exam dream anymore but interesting you have no ‘unprepared for something dreams’ as I still do from time to time. you may be a better adult than me!!!
I laughed at your exam dream – my husband and I both had the dream where we couldn’t find the right room minutes before the exam was to start. Needless to say, we always double checked where the room was ahead of time, and left lots of time to get there the morning of the exam. It was years after we finished school when we stopped having those dreams 🙂
I am not sure if I am too tired to remember my dreams, or too old and my memory just isn’t what it used to be, but the stressful ones I am happy to do without.