The study of dreams has always fascinated me, but it's my own dreams, in particular, that keeps me wondering.

Ever since I was really young, my dreams have been significate to me. I can barely remember my childhood, but some of my dreams, even from an early age, are still very vivid in my mind. It wasn't until I reached my 20s when I really started looking into what my dreams meant. As much as I like researching the ideas of why we dream, I've come up with my own conclusions. Like most things, dreams are open to interpretation, and for me, I like to use them as a coping mechanism. They can help me deal with stressful, or upsetting situations, as well as guide me through unknown or unplanned events in my life.

Just like a lot of people, I have those "usual dreams" you'd expect to have before something significate in your life, whether you're excited about something, or completely nervous. I sometimes have reoccurring dreams like never finishing my uni work before hand-in, meeting my favourite celebrities, or being pregnant. Being pregnant seems pretty normal until you realise your dream is going backwards. The first night I'm celebrating my child's birthday, and a few nights later I'm giving birth. I usually wake up from a dream wondering what is going on in my mind, other times, it can really affect my mood for a few days. I've woken up in tears after having to live through a heartbreaking dream.

As I am constantly talking about my dreams, I got given a dream journal for Christmas to store my dreams, and also a dream dictionary so I can understand what it all means. Slight problem though.

I haven't had a dream since I recieved these gifts.

Almost 2 months with no dreams is very unlike me. I'm not sure if it's because I've got a lot on my mind and I'm having trouble relaxing, or it could be something else. My dream dictionary has been a great resource to those around me though. *rolls eyes.* Over the last few days I've woken up knowing I've had dreams, but no recollection of what they were. Hopefully, I get them back soon, as I can't wait to fill out my journal and share my stories with you. What I do want to share with you is some of my most memorable dreams, just to give you an idea of what I really dream about.

Going back to when I was a child, I would dream a lot about being underwater. It wasn't a nightmare in the sense I was drowning, it was just me swimming around with all the sea life. I would always remember how vivid and beautiful the colours were. I'd have this dream night after night, and it was something I expected once I closed my eyes, and even looked forward to it. Sadly, not all my dreams at that age were as enjoyable, as I would have a lot of nightmares. The most prominent nightmare was about this huge teddy bear that would live in my parents' room. It would come alive and start chasing me. The teddy bear in real life wasn't scary at all, but I guess you can't control your nightmares. Something which has happened during my nightmares throughout my entire life which I can't explain is what I like to call my 'flashing yellow safety light'. After every nightmare is finished, in my awoken state, I will see this round flashing light in my room letting me know it's all over and I'm safe. Still, to this day, I have no idea what that could mean. Maybe it's something I've found comfort in and use as a safety sign.

In recent years, I've been having reoccurring dreams about toilets. Yes, toilets. But not any old toilet, that would be too easy. These are always overflowing toilets. I could be having a normal dream, living a normal life, and out of nowhere, the toilet will start overflowing. I was even shopping once, (in my dream) and there was a window display made up of overflowing toilets. I literally can't get away from them. Toilets are one of the most common dreams, but it's usually about not being able to find it. To me, it seems like the toilets are seeking me out. It's safe to say that the majority of my dreams stay inside my head, but I am always concerned that I will one day flush the toilet, and the overflowing will begin in real life.

Now for my creepiest dream to date. I was out browsing in a shopping centre and my bag got stolen. I told the police and they said they would call me back later with any updates. Four hours later I received a phone call to inform me my belongings had been found. When checking my bag, I found three scruffy handwritten letters, one of which had 'r.i.p lovely' and to make it worse, it had a scribbled line through it. I spent weeks fearing for my life wondering what this could all mean. I rarely remember words in dreams, but to see this is something else. And why did it have a scribbled line through it?

Sometimes my dreams may seem pretty normal to me. Nothing out of the ordinary, until I have a dream a few days later and realise I'm seeing places I don't recognise in my real life, but I'm constantly seeing them in my dreams. In particular, a train station. Every time I need to travel (which seems to be a lot), I'd always use the same train station. I don't even know if this station exists, but I know I have never used it. I see bridges, towers, low budget hotels constantly, but again, no idea where they're from. I think I would be really freaked out if one day I ended up seeing these in person.

Now onto the not so nice dreams; nightmares. Like I've mentioned above, I have been getting them since I was little, but over the last couple of years, they seem to be feeling more realistic. I am having to remind myself during my nightmares that whatever is going on isn't real and it can't hurt me. Recently, I had a dream where I woke up in my bed, and around my doorframe I could see a blazing red fire. I jumped out of bed, opened the door and just screamed for help. I remembered this dream somehow hours after waking up and had to ask if anyone heard me screaming during the night. It felt that real, I wasn't sure if it actually happened. It's strange how whenever screaming is involved in a dream, I'm not sure which world it's happening in.

There will definitely be a lot more posts like this in the future, once I start dreaming again. Let me know in the comments below any vivid dream you always remember, or if you've had any similar to mine.