The teacher reminded me of the assignment that I needed to do, which counted toward my overall grade in the class. The other students had already completed their assignments, but I hadn’t started mine yet. In almost all cases, I would just be frustrated, but at the same time so paralyzed that I wouldn’t be able to complete the project at all. I would either just shut down, or leave the class behind, abandoning my hope of ever passing the course.
This time was different
For the first time in my whole life, I had the resolve to not only start the project, but to complete it and hand it to the teacher on time! When I was finished, I was so proud that I’d accomplished my task … FOR ONCE!
The Assignment?
Well, the assignment was to create three paper craft objects in the shape of squares, each with a saying on it, or a word of encouragement. When I completed the first two, I had written something from a list of sayings already given to us to use. The third, however, needed to be something that I came up with on my own. It didn’t take me too long to come up with my phrase of encouragement:
“You are a ray of sunshine. You are focused into a single point, lighting the object up!”
The image that came into my head as I thought of the phrase was that of someone using a magnifying glass to focus the sunlight onto an object in order to start a fire. I was so proud of myself for coming up with that. It seemed to me that, unlike how I was in the past, I was able to mentally work toward and complete a crucial project for a subject I genuinely cared for.
Well, after the assignment, I flew away to my next adventure! Like, literally — I flapped my hands to gain altitude, then flew away, dipping and then gaining altitude as I went to my next destination…
Who Else Has Experienced This?
Have you ever experienced this sort of inversion of one of the most common school dreams? Have you ever overcome a problem presented to you in this type of dream, which is usually marked by anger, frustration, and hopelessness?
Timothy 