Once Upon a Dream

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I woke up on a warm summer day and took got ready to go on my trip. After that I packed my suitcases and bags and put them into the car. That day was the day. The day was finally here. The day in which we would finally go on our long awaited trip. Before we knew it, everyone in my family had packed their bags into the car, and we were all ready to go to the airport. 

On the ride to the airport, we encountered a lot of traffic. I don't know why, but it seemed as if everyone was headed to the airport. I remember that in the dream, everyone on the car was doing something different. I think I was doing my hair, my sister was on her phone doing something, my father was speaking on the phone, and my mom was scrolling through facebook, or something. 

We got to the airport when it was around two or three PM. We got to a ginormous airport and got out of the car. Then, we got our bags and started heading towards the entrance of the airport. It was strange because it seemed like everyone in the whole world was at that airport. I took a look at the Arrivals/ Departures screen and realized that there was only one flight on the screen, and it was departing from that airport. 

My family and I did not hesitate to sign in and get our plane tickets. After that, we got on a line to put the bigger bags on the thing that takes them to the compartment under the plane. As we all know, the next step that we had to take to get to the plane was get through TSA. It was odd that this particular TSA was more like a long hallway full of TSA checkpoints that grew narrower as you advanced through it. 

My family and I, and every other person that was at the airport, started going through the TSA security checkpoints. As we advanced through more and more people got left behind. Even some people we knew got left behind. It was not a pleasant sight to see. The hallway got narrower and narrower, as we went through the security checkpoints and got closer and closer to the gate from which the plane would depart. 

It was scary to see that out of everyone that had gathered at the airport the majority of the people could not make it through some of the security checkpoints. The hallway full of TSA checkpoints seemed endless, but we got closer and closer to the gate. Eventually, the announcer started announcing the final calls for the plane. At that point, people began to try to go through the checkpoints as quickly as they could, but still more and more people got left behind. 

Eventually, it got to a point that my family got split up. Three of us advanced and one got left behind. At the next checkpoint, I was told that something was not adding up, that something was missing. I grew a bit frantic because I had everything I needed. I had my ticket, I packed everything I needed for the trip, or at least everything I thought I needed, I looked appropriate, and I was overall ready to go on the trip. However, it seemed like I was missing something. I looked over to my left and to my right and saw people experimenting the same thing. My sister was one of those people, too.

At the same time, many people were going through to the final checkpoints, and the announcer kept announcing that the flight would soon be departing. I was beyond anxious and afraid at that point. I knew that there was no way I could make it through. I did not want to accept it, but I was missing something that everyone else that had gone through did not lack. I was stuck at one of the final checkpoints. 

The announcer announced the final boarding call, and the last few people that made it through all of the security checkpoints made it onto the plane. Soon enough, everyone that was left behind realized that it was too late. Nothing could be done. Nothing would change their fate. It was their own choices and decisions that led them to that point. I remember that in the dream, I was bawling like crazy because I, along with many others that were left behind, really wanted to go on that trip.

The questions that I ask myself when I think about this dream are: "Was this dream a metaphor?" and "What were we all missing?" It was obviously not the ticket or something that needed to be packed. Was it something abstract? Did it have something to do with who WE are and what every single person's character was like? I don't know. I don't have all the answers.

*YOU DON'T HAVE TO READ ANYTHING BELOW THIS LINE*

To me, this dream was a wake up call. It was telling me that there is more to life than what I had been focusing on until that point. Life is not only about the things we need to do in this world as humans. In fact, school will end one day, our jobs will end one day, many dear relationships and friendships can end one day, what we are focusing on attaining now will one day be a memory, and even our lives will end one day. 

That got me thinking... What doesn't change regardless of everything that comes and goes in our lives? What do people remember about us after we die? Is there something else that we should focus on now as we are still living? 

To answer my first question, I realized that who we are as individuals, our characters, and even our personalities are established at a young age and modeled over time. Although we may be different now from what we were then, there are many things about us that never change. Those are things that we build and develop over time. As I previously stated, we may change, but the main principle is always going to remain. 

I thought about my second question to myself and I reflected back at my answer to my second question. Since we spend our whole lives developing our characters, personalities, and ourselves as people, wouldn't our true identity be revealed after we die? To many people I have a weird way of thinking, but hear me out. It is said that everything comes to light and that "there is nothing new under the sun". Character is defined as the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual. In other words, our characters are what we are liked behind closed doors when there is no one watching us. We spend our lives molding our characters. 

When we die, it is possible that our true identity, or our true character, can come to light. It is true that when someone dies they are often painted as a positive person who had done many great things and influenced many people. However, there is a point at which people are comfortable enough to share stories and experiences they had with that individual that died. As those stories are shared, many things about the person could come to light. Things like their personality and character. My point is that everything, no matter how much we may try to hide certain things, eventually comes to light.

Lastly, I thought about my last question to myself. There must be things we can do while we are alive to assure that our end is not unpleasant. To me, I think it is important to work on my mindset and my character. We are all human and we all make mistakes, but that does not mean that we should stop improving ourselves. I think that it is important to be the best version of myself I can be. Yes, terrible things happen, a lot of things are out of my control, and a lot of things hurt us terribly, but I thing one should be able to grow from those experiences and apply the knowledge gained from those unfortunate moments to future situations that may require certain skills that were acquired while going through the hard times. 

Overall, I don't know what my dream means, and I don't know what everything may represent, but I know that there are many things I can do now to ensure that next time, I get on that plane and go on that trip. I may have gone a bit off topic at the end, but I just wrote everything that flowed out of my brain.