Tuesday, June 7, 2011

My Dream - Reflection and Relation to Class

I recently had a dream that I found related to discussions that we have had in English 308J. Actually, it could probably be considered more of a nightmare, although I don’t often find myself frightened when I have what most people would consider scary dreams. I was aware that I was in danger in my dream, but I did not overreact or carry lingering effects from the dream when I woke up.


The dream I had took my place on the campus of Ohio University. It was a rainy day and the campus was empty, scarce. It found it very eerie as I walked around campus as I looked for somebody that I knew that I could speak to. I do not know why I was walking in the rain, where I was going, or what I was looking for. Looking back on my dream, I assume there was some danger or something wrong in Athens because I remember moving with caution everywhere I went. Finally, at the Convocation Center, where I hoped to find somebody from the baseball team, I spotted one of my teammates.


“What are you doing out here?” I asked him, once again leading me to believe that there was something wrong with being outside at this time. He responded saying that he had just gone to the locker room to gather a few of his things. We parted ways, and I headed towards an outside pool that I imagined was present on campus in my dream. I did not find this unordinary while I was dreaming, even when I noticed that the pool was not full of clean water, but instead about halfway filled with murky, brown, weathered water with leaves, dirt, and other debris in it. Then, curiously, I saw a person wading in the shallow end of the water. I don’t remember the brief conversation we had, but I remember finding him very creepy and cold, and I felt unwelcomed. I believe I asked him about the condition of the pool and he responded to me by telling me to just stay away. From this, I assumed that he was maybe a maintenance man, or that the pool was unhealthy. I proceeded to walk away.


As I walked past the deep end of the pool to head back towards the Convo, I caught a glimpse of something floating in the dirty water. I looked closer, and it was a head! I shot a look back down to the shallow end of the pool at the mysterious man I had just spoken with. He knew what I had seen. Panicking, I quickly jumped into the pool to try to help this unknown body emerge from the filthy water. Only when I reached the head, there was no body at all. From what I remember, it looked to be a rotten skull, but it did not have the appearance of human bone. It was softer and appeared to be grayer than the typical human skull. I contemplated why this man had this person’s skull in the pool. Was he preserving it? Had he killed this man? I had very little time to think after my horrifying discovery as I turned and found that the mysterious man had swam to the deep end of the pool and was reaching for me. I felt myself begin to submerge underneath the cold, thick brown water.


“I told you to just go away”, he said calmly, as I felt his strength upon me. And then I woke up.


Since I woke up as the man began pushing me under water, I assume that I died in my dream. I don’t distinctly remember the characteristics of the skull I pulled from the pool, or the appearance of the man. However, I remember clearly the layout of Ohio University’s campus and the location of this pool I had subconsciously placed near the athletic fields next to the Convo. My dream reminded me a lot of Black Swan because I was unable to clarify specifically who the other people in my dream were, just as Nina’s visions are sometimes unclear as to if she is seeing herself doing something, or seeing Lily doing something. The lighting in my dream was also dim and dull, since it was cloudy and rainy, similar to the lighting in Black Swan. I felt very unsure of what was going on in my dream, comparable to how Nina is confused about some of the images she sees and experiences she has as she goes through her odd transformation, although I cannot relate in the sense of personally experiencing anything strange with my body in my dream. I think my dream, or nightmare, was relevant to some of the discussions we have had about the mind in class, and I actually found myself quite entertained once I had awoken and remembered what I had dreamt.

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