User blog:Jdeschene/Recurring Nightmares?

I've always been fascinated by the subject of recurring nightmares. There has to be a reason that they keep recurring, right? Below are some recurring nightmares I've had at different periods throughout my life. Feel free to use them as inspiration, and tell me some of your recurring nightmares.

The Phantom Driver
When I was very young, somewhere between 2 and 4 years old (yes, it's rare to have memories from those ages, but I swear I do) I would have the same dream almost every night. It would always start with me sitting in the back seat of my mother's car. The car was parked outside of my grandmother's house and, by way of dream knowledge, I knew that my mother was inside talking to my grandmother.

Suddenly, the care began to move on its own. No driver was visible, but I knew some unseen entity was driving it, and I was very scared. My point of view would switch between first person, inside the car, and a bird's eyeview far above it, watching the car go over a large suspension bridge that was bathed in the light of sunset.

The dream always ended the same way. I would have to crawl from the backseat into the drivers seat and drive the car (as a toddler) back to where it was. To this day, I can drive in my dreams, but not in my waking life.

I'm Going to Fail
This one is probably a little more common. Every once in a while I have a dream where I suddenly realize that I'm still in college. This realization usually comes after months and months of not having attended classes or done any assignments, and now I must scramble to complete enough for each class in order to get a passing grade. This is compounded by the realization that I can't even remember who my professors are, what my schedule is, or where the rooms are located. It all adds up to a hopeless and embarrassing situation where I'm just as worried about what my mother will say as I am about actually failing. Relatable?

Whales
This one isn't a recurring dream so much as a theme that appears in multiple dreams. I'm one of those folks that has a fear of being right up close to very large things. Whales, despite my love for them, obviously fall into this category. Sometimes, in my dreams, I'll find myself looking out over a vast body of water, knowing that there are whales in there, and being afraid that one will show up and get way too close at any second.

This one has some longing in it, because there is also part of me that would love to see a whale, like on a whalewatch or something. See above, re: I love them. I think they're such beautiful, majestic creatures. But the thought of getting up close to one is absolutely made of 100% nope.

So, those are three recurring nightmares or dream themes I've had throughout my life. What are some of yours?