One would think students would be too tired to dream at night after studying, working, and hunting for free food every day. In reality, however, the brain of anyone attending post-secondary school never truly shuts down, especially during midterm season. Here is a list of the five types of dreams that every student has during the most stressful time of the term:
1. The Utopian Type of Dream
Maybe you were relaxing on the beach in Hawaii. Maybe you were curled up in bed reading. Maybe you were even back in high school, excited about having just been accepted to university. It doesn’t matter exactly what you were dreaming about, however, because your alarm inevitably went off right as dream-you was thinking that you couldn’t be any happier. Surprise, it’s raining outside and you have to write your first midterm in wet socks.
2. The Forgotten Type of Dream
Similar to the aforementioned type of dream, maybe you were waterskiing. Maybe you were at a concert with your friends. Maybe you were even eating your favourite comfort meal. Once again, it doesn’t matter what exactly you were dreaming about, because you wake up unable to remember anything but the distant sense of having been somewhere much better than your room, which is no doubt littered with scrawled study notes. Surprise, it’s hailing and you have to go through your entire day of midterms with a vague sense of disappointment and dejection.
3. The Foreshadowing Type of Dream
You hear your alarm go off. You stumble out of bed and through your morning rituals – dressing, eating, brushing your teeth. Just as you are about to walk to school, however, your alarm goes off, this time for real. Surprise, you just dreamt a good chunk of the day still before you and will now have an inescapable sense of déjà vu wherever you go.
4. The Worse-than-Midterms Type of Dream
You are about to write a midterm worth 40% of your final grade, but you’ve forgotten your pencil, calculator, and student ID at home. You turn to the people beside you in hopes that they can lend you what you need, but your TA – the one you’ve always suspected hated you since the moment you walked in five minutes late on the first day of class – starts handing out the test booklets and orders you to stop talking. Fortunately, however, you wake up in a cold sweat and you find that you have never been so relieved to be conscious at 4:00 a.m. Surprise, you’ve gotten about two hours of sleep and have a midterm in four and a half hours.
5. The Absurdist Reality TV Show Type of Dream
Again, you are about to write a midterm worth 40% of your final grade, but you find yourself waiting, along with your classmates, in a giant swimming pool filled with jello. You try to make your way to the pool’s edge, but everyone around you turns into contestants from The Voice. The voice of your TA – the one you suspect has hated you ever since you asked a question she couldn’t answer on the first day of class – booms from the loudspeaker above, announcing that your midterm is now a singing contest. Some part of you is aware that you are dreaming and desperately wants to wake up, but to no avail. Time to start yodelling at the top of your lungs. When your alarm finally goes off, you can’t muster the energy needed to get out of bed. Surprise, you know you have a midterm today, but you’ve forgotten the time, location, and even the class it’s for.