Honor Kehde

Once you enter a dream, the possibilities are endless, the impossible becomes possible,
and your biggest dreams and desires become a reality. There must be a purpose for your dreams.
Many psychologists have come up with theories to explain why your dreams are how they are.
Each dream should be able to relate back to these theories.
One theory, The Unconscious Wish Fulfillment Theory, was made by Sigmund Freud.
This theory states that dreams represent our unconscious wishes and desires which we would like
fulfilled. With this theory, Freud believed that your dreams contain either manifest content or
latent content. Manifest content is when a dream has an overt storyline. With latent content,
Freud believed that dreams have a disguised meaning that is hidden behind more obvious
subjects. Through latent content, Freud emphasized sex. For example, Freud believed that if
you dreamed of apples and peaches you were subconsciously dreaming about womens breasts.
If you were flying an airplane or crossing a bridge Freud believed you were dreaming about sex.
Knives and guns represented the male penis, while ovens and closets represented the vagina.
Most psychologists rejected the emphasis on sex, but accept the theory. Dreams related to the
Unconscious Wish Fulfillment Theory can stem from my thoughts that that Channing Tatum is
very handsome. Because I have this thought, I might dream that I am going on an extravagant
date with him.
It is a natural human instinct to fight for our lives. It would only be natural to dream
about surviving life threatening situations. The Dreams for Survival Theory suggest that dreams
permit information that is critical for our daily survival to be reconsidered and reprocessed
during sleep. This can be a dream where someone is chasing you with and knife and you do
everything you can to stay alive. This is so that if a situation similar to these dreams occurs it
will be more natural for us to take action for survival.

Honor Kehde

The last two dream theories are similar in the aspect that the dreams have very little
actual meaning. According to the Reverse Learning Theory dreams have no real meaning;
instead the dreams function to get rid of unnecessary information in our brain. Generally these
dreams are sparked by memory. For example, throughout the day there is so much information
to take in that our brains need to get rid of unnecessary images. Therefore, our dreams deem
very random and unconnected. It is like a dream erases this unwanted information from our
minds, almost like a trashcan for memories. J. Allan Hobson claimed, through the Activation
Synthesis Theory, that the brain produces random electrical energy during rapid eye movement
(REM) sleep. This stimulates memories stored in various parts of the brain. Through dreams
involving this theory, you may have played a very important game and then in your dreams you
may replay the game but then other memories, not related to the main plot, intercede as well.
Each of the four theories can relate to your dreams. I kept a dream journal over several
nights. One dream I had was that I was going to tour a college with my parents and attend a
soccer tryout. The first day we were there, we would go on the tour of the campus. After the
tour, they offered to let me use their gym to play basketball. I was shooting around when the
entire girls soccer team came into the gym. They were just staring at me as I played basketball.
I could hear some of them talk about how I was too slow and would never be good for their
team. This made me so nervous for the tryouts the next day but it also made me want to prove
them wrong. The next day, I went to the tryout and worked as hard as I could. In the dream I
was everywhere on the field. The girls were very impressed along with the coach. The coach
gave me a full ride scholarship and I immediately started playing for the team. This dream is an
example of the Activation Synthesis Theory. Around the time of this dream I was talking to my
dad about playing soccer in college. We were discussing what options I had and the steps I need

Honor Kehde

to take. Soccer tryouts had been on my mind and I was stressing out about it. This dream was
dreamt in color, I know this because I distinctly remember the gym being outlined in purple and
the girls wearing purple shirts. I believe the location of the dream came from Spring Hill
College in Alabama. This is where I already had a tryout. The girls were also the same ones
from Spring Hill. While I was there for the tryouts I watched their girls basketball team, so I
believe this may have been the reason I started playing basketball in my dream. This dream was
loosely plotted because in the dream I was not at Spring Hill, but everything was set up to
resemble the Spring Hill Gym. I was also there to play soccer, but then I was practicing
basketball. I think this dream does well when explaining my character. In the dream after the
girls were putting me down, I was more determined to work hard and make the team. I feel that I
have a lot of heart and determination when it comes to sports. I feel that this dream is also an
example of the Unconscious Wish Fulfillment Theory. This is because I want more than
anything to continue playing sports.
My next dream incorporated the Dreams for Survival Theory. In this dream a group of
my friends and I was on top of a mountain. The mountain had a river winding around it at a fast
pace. We were all in our bathing suits so that we could float down the mountain. Each of us
would pair up with a person of the opposite gender. I was paired up with Mason. As we floated
down the mountain the pace increased and before we could do anything about it, we were flung
off the mountain. Just as i thought we were going to die, we landed back on the mountain. This
happened two or three times on our trip down. Once we reached the bottom we were shot back
to the top to go on the same journey. This is a dream for survival because once I was plunging to
my death; I would put myself back on the mountain to safely finish my journey. I believe that
stimulus incorporation was present during this dream. It was raining the night I had this dream

Honor Kehde

so I think that is where the water came into play. During this week, my friends and I were
talking about our senior trip to Colorado. Since I had a lot of thoughts about skiing, that is where
the mountain came into play. I think I paired myself up with Mason because I had been talking
to him a lot at that point. I do not distinctly remember any colors in the dream. I would have to
say that it was in black and white. I do not think that anyone talked during this dream; all I recall
is the sound of rushing water. I think this dream shows that I am excited about senior trip and
that I love water. This dream was very constructed and orderly. The cycle of the mountain slide
just continued on and on.
Dreams can say a lot about a persons desires. Who would not want to have the
opportunity to accomplish their deepest wishes, even if it is only for a moment? It is very
interesting how each dream has a meaning and can relate back to the dream theories.