Thursday, March 26, 2009

The College Dream

Things are definitely moving forward with the house situation, but things keep popping up to move the finish line back a little. We get in the new house and the garbage disposal goes out. J sets up the office, and my power cord for my laptop goes out AGAIN (this is my third cord in 3 months - gonna have to take the laptop into the Apple Store and find out if it's the laptop and not the cords). We get our new closet and all the clothes in only to discover it would've been set up better with a couple of sections reversed - meaning trip #4 for the closet people to our humble new abode. One thing after another, most of which means more money out the door and a checklist that I can't seem to make headway on.

Well, I guess it's getting to me, because last night I had "The College Dream." Anyone who has been to college has had the college dream. I promise. Just ask a college graduate you know. It usually occurs when you're in a stressful period where you've got a lot going on and you're afraid something has fallen through the cracks or you've dropped the ball in some way and it's all about to catch up with you. Here's how it goes:

You're still in college. It's the end of the semester, and finals are starting this week or next. You realize that there's a class you forgot about and stopped going to at the beginning of the semster. You never dropped this class - you just forgot about it and stopped going. So, you have no idea what's happened all semester or how much the final is worth and if you have any hope of saving your ass (meaning your grade) with the final. But it's your only hope, because otherwise, you for sure will be getting an F, and that will blow your entire grade point.

In a word, you're screwed. But you *have* to TRY and save yourself. So, you show up for the last class or last couple of classes (in my dream last night, I'd been MIA for the first 2/3 of the semester, and had remembered to start going for about the last 1/3 of the class, but I wasn't sure if that would be enough to get me through the final) and see if you think you might get *something* useful out of those last couple of classes - maybe a prep sheet for the final to help you figure out what to study when you cram for the final. Also, you don't actually know when or where the final is, so you're hoping that might get mentioned. Otherwise, you're going to have to find a schedule somewhere.

This is the point where I always wake up - in a panic about what I need to study, unsure I can actually pull it off, and not even sure when or where to go, and just SICK that I'm about to ruin my GPA and it's all my own fault.

And that's The College Dream. My mom used to wake up in the middle of the night, practically yelling, "Oh my God, I have a test tomorrow, and I haven't studied!" My dad would have to tell her, "You've already graduated, honey."

Ah college. It really does stick with you forever, doesn't it?

5 comments:

Judy said...

Bwahahaha! I can safely say I have never had this dream. Mainly because I would rather sleep through an 8 a.m. class on the front row IN FRONT OF THE PROFESSOR than skip the dern thing and sleep of the night before. Yep. Thus the reason my major changed from biology to education. That, and the fact that I went to a total geekazoid school - no way did those folks let you register for a class and forget about it!

Tiffany said...

I have had that dream, many times, mostly when I was in college but even since. I totally get you!

Sluggin' Beauty said...

I've had the dream but it's performance related...there was a play or musical or songs that I have never learned and opening night was the next day. ahhhh! I would wake up in a cold sweat. Wait! I'm not in school anymore.

Anonymous said...

I have sooooo had this dream. Sometimes it's high school, sometimes college. But always like yours, somehow I've spaced off about a class and suddenly have to try to save myself. Sometimes I can't even FIND the class.

And I feel your house pain. As I type this, there are two sheetrock guys trying to fit into our teensy "1/8th" bath doing work. The fun never ends in renovations.

ang said...

Ah, yes. I had The College Dream AGAIN, just this past fall. And mine was virtually exactly like you described, except I discovered my forgotten class on the DAY of the final exam. Talk about waking up all FRANTIC in the middle of the night! It took me several seconds after waking up to talk myself down from the ceiling and remember I already graduated.

Ah, the stresses of adult life. Can I be 12 again, please? Wait, no... then I'd have to go through this all over again. How about 65 and retired, sitting in my rocking chair on the porch with J and the critters and singing songs from the yester-years. Ah, much better.