"Dreams" by Tasnim Uddin ('18)

When I met Laura, she said she had always had vivid, richly colored dreams that she could easily remember. Ever since that day we met, she always annoyed the heck out of me when she bragged about her dreams. It was like listening to someone who has achieved Mount Everest or won the Olympics.

Now that I think about it, the reason why I used to get annoyed by her dreams was probably because I never had vivid, richly colored dreams. All my dreams have either wild dogs chasing after me or some kind of dark spirits following me. So, whenever Laura would brag about her dreams, I would get deeply jealous. It seemed like there was a competition between Laura and I when it came to having better dreams. Sometimes I feel as if Laura just exaggerates about having all these vivid dreams because each time she repeats the same story, there is always something that gets changed in her dreams. For example, one time she was so happy that she had a dream about riding this pony named Ariel, but her toothless grandma chuckled at the name Ariel, so next day when Laura was talking about that same dream with Abigail, she said the pony's name was Twinkle. You know what I mean, right? How can the name change so drastically? Where is Ariel and where is Twinkle?  

Moreover, one time I shared my dream with Laura and the reaction that I got from her was unforgettable. I told her about one of my dreams in which a vicious dog was chasing after me for God knows whatever reason. The minute I said, "suddenly a vicious dog came running down the block, charging at me," Laura stopped me and said, "OMG, what kind of dream is that?" as if it was my fault for having such a dream. Well if you really think about it, dreams rely on a person's subconscious state of mind, so it's technically my fault for having such dreams. However, I have no control over my subconscious mind, or do I? I really don't know the answer to that.