I woke up this morning at 11 after having a really bizarre and entertaining dream in which I was driving my car down the highway when all of a sudden I realized I was dreaming. I didn’t wake up, however, and I kept driving my car. Since I knew I was dreaming I decided to have some fun and turn my ’95 Saturn into a flying car. Suddenly, I was flying high above all of the cars on the highway while bumping the latest Lupe Fiasco CD. It was a blast especially because there is no way my Saturn could do anything that cool in real life. I usually consider myself lucky if my car windows don’t leak while it’s raining or I don’t have to kick my speakers to get the music to come back on.

Anyway, I wake up from this dream at 11 AM, or so I thought it was 11. When I looked at my alarm clock it said 6:20 PM! I was like, “S#%#T! I’m going to miss Bill Clinton’s speech tonight!” So, I start getting ready as fast I can and I begin to notice that my bedroom doesn’t look the same. It looked like it did when I was in middle school. I step into the hallway and into our upstairs bathroom and it looks completely different, too. I’m starting to get a little freaked out and then it hits me that I’m still dreaming. I wake up with a start and glance at my alarm clock that reads 11 AM. I was so relieved it had only been a dream that it took me a moment to realize that my house looked completely different. Suddenly, I was back in my old house that I haven’t lived in since I was five. It dawned on me that I was still dreaming and that I had woken up from my previous dream into a new dream! Right after that realization, I woke up to the sound of my alarm clock telling me that it was 11 AM. This time I was back in the real world.

Those were some of the weirdest dreams I’ve had in awhile, and they felt so real while I was having them. However, I enjoyed the experience and I was reminded of why I like dreams so much in the first place. They are one of life’s great mysteries and I’m always pondering the deeper meaning behind them. Are dreams really only side effects caused by the way the brain sorts out information obtained in our day-to-day life, or is the dream world an alternate reality that is as real as this reality? Anyone who’s as fascinated by dreams as I am should check out the movie, Waking Life.

On a side note, I want to say that I’m pretty lucky to get to sleep till 11 every day of the week this semester except for Mondays. It’s my last semester at IPFW and I’ve already been accepted to dental school, so I’m under no stress or pressure. It’s great being a senior and I’m really enjoying every minute of it. Last night I went out to J K O'Donnell's (an Irish pub downtown) for St. Patty’s Day and I had a blast partying with a lot of my friends down there. The real trick to make the most of your college education while enjoying it at the same time is to find a balance between work and play. It’s all about time management. And with that piece of advice, I’ll leave you with this Irish limerick: “As you slide down the banisters of life may the splinters never point the wrong way.”