It was only just a dream

For the longest time, I believed dreams meant something. But according to actual professionals, not journalists who never quite put their women’s and gender studies minors to use, they actually don’t mean a thing.

In case you haven’t noticed, most of my columns tend to dabble in the emotional realm. I strongly believe this is because 1) I’ve always been into psychology. When I was at UNC, I tried to minor in it, but I was told I had to declare a minor by sophomore year, which wasn’t really an option since I transferred in and 2) I’m an insanely emotional person. I consider this both my best and worst trait.

I’m sure we’ve all had dreams where we’re back in high school. Despite my geriatric age, I haven’t stepped foot in my high school hallway in almost 10 years. Still, I recently found out there are such things as precognitive dreams, or premonition dreams, that might have you questioning those weirdly specific moments of déjà vu.

The debate over whether dreams mean anything has been going on for centuries. Personally, I think if you can vividly recall a dream, there’s probably some truth behind the madness. Even if we don’t remember them, most humans dream for at least two hours a night. According to the Sleep Foundation (yes, that’s a thing), around 17.8% to 38% of people experience premonition dreams.

So basically, some of us get a little taste of prophecy while we’re knocked out cold. Sure, experts say these dreams are usually tied to stress or trauma, and there’s little to no scientific proof that dreams can predict the future. But I beg to differ.

For instance, President Abraham Lincoln reportedly dreamed about his own death. In the dream, he investigated the cause and found it was an assassination. Coincidence? Maybe. But I’d argue the proof is in the pudding.

There were also reports of people dreaming about Robert Kennedy’s assassination before it happened. Kathleen Middleton even called the Premonitions Bureau — yes, that was real — three times on June 4, 1968, concerned about Kennedy’s safety. He was shot just after midnight on June 5.

Despite these eerie examples, there still isn’t enough solid evidence for researchers to say dreams are more than subconscious noise. Most experts chalk them up to selective recall, paranormal beliefs (thank you for confirming that I’m crazy — my therapist already told me that), coincidence and subconscious connections.

I’ve had every type of dream under the sun. I’ve dreamed of getting called on in class, only to live the exact moment later— same desk, same shirt, same panic. I’ve had those teeth-falling-out dreams, which are their own brand of horror, and nightmares about snakes, which, as far as I’m concerned, are a valid reason to never sleep again.

So do dreams mean anything? Maybe. Maybe not. But if my brain wants to deliver cryptic midnight messages wrapped in chaos, snakes and high school flashbacks, who am I to ignore them? Until science catches up or someone invents a dream decoder, I’ll keep paying attention—just in case my subconscious knows something I don’t.