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I've considered so many interpretations. For me, it's not the case that I feel "stuck" or that others have progressed beyond me.
I have a pretty high position in my company, and I've attained lots of important goals I had set for myself, working in the mental health field. So for me, it's not that.
The interpretation that feels closest to feeling "right" for me is that the dreams are about responsibilities. To me, it's of the utmost importance to fulfill all of one's responsibilities. I follow checklists, stay organized, and I meticulously make sure I'm meeting all my responsibilities: paying bills on time or early, renewing credentials & licenses, cleaning the house, taking care of the animals, completing tasks at my job correctly and on time, etc. As a teen I never would have forgotten gym clothes or to study for a test, because I gave myself reminders. The dreams of the forgotten class, the forgotten test or paper, or the forgotten gym clothes seem like anxiety about not having attended to a responsibility. I actually handle all my responsibilities in an organized way to avoid anxiety. I take pride, and feel peace, when I know everything is organized, up to date, and taken care of. So those dreams are like pulling the rug from under my feet. The dreams give me the message: Maybe you haven't attended to everything. Maybe you've dropped a ball that you don't even know about. Similarly, I get frequent dreams where I suddenly find a forgotten pet in my house that's sick and starving, and I'd somehow forgotten to feed it and take care of it.
I dream similar things. I have dreamed I didn't study for a test, didnt write a paper and even that I forgot to go to class(or classes) for a whole semester. I actually feel very relieved when I wake up and realize I am no longer in college.
I was very stressed out when I went college so I think that fear and anxiety just stayed somewhere in my brain.
I have this same problem too, that I missed classes or didn't study for an exam. Kind of odd since I've been retired for a few years now and have both an undergraduate degree and MBA.
Yup me too - it's always highschool and like others said, I'm looking for the classroom, I haven't been there in at least a month and I need the credits to graduate. Interestingly, it's always math class in my dream. And I have always had an aversion to math (it started in 2nd grade when my teacher was just mean.)
I guess it's anxiety in some form. I'm glad to know it's common though.
I don't have the high school dream, nor do I have the college dream. I have the "back in the military" dream. It's sporadically recurring, but it's always the same. I'm back in my old unit, and having to do military things, but always in that transition where I'm about to get out. I always know I'm getting out. Sometimes I'm packing up all my things to prepare for shipping (and it's always a ridiculous amount of absurd items, like boxes of shower curtains, bricks and weird things like that). Other times I'm going to a training exercise and trying to explain to everyone that I'm getting out, and should not be going to the exercise. Through all the dreams though, I always feel relieved and excited. It's never a negative dream. It's just always the place I end up, back in the Army, and about to get out.
I'm still dreaming about high school (I'm 74 years old). I have an important exam, but it's been so long since I've been to that class, I can't even remember what room it is in, and I'm wandering around school looking for the right room.
I also dream about work, where I have figured out so many ways to avoid doing things, that I now just go to work every day and do nothing, and I keep wondering why I get away with it, and have to keep looking busy, but I don't know how to do anything.
I also have recurring dreams about jobs. I have a recuring dream that I am at one of my old jobs and I'm sneaking in to work. In the dream I am always aware I left. Usually at the end I realize I'm not getting paid or that I'm still getting paid because someone forgot to take me off payroll. Sometimes I have been working there for free many months. I guess not getting a paycheck after I left the place must have been very traumatizing. It didn't feel that way consciously but judging by these dreams it must have been a horrofying experience subsconciously.
I've had this kind of dream very frequently over the past several years. Even though I graduated college 10 years ago, I dream that I'm back in college but not the one I went to (oftentimes several credits short of graduating) and begrudgingly have to do one more year or semester, and feel very disappointed. In my dream I'm back in school at my current age, with kids who are at least 10 years younger and I feel uncomfortable.
I'm not familiar with psychology or dream interpretation, but if you have any theories I'd definitely welcome them.
Thanks in advance.
Recurring dreams usually indicate something unresolved in your life. You could feel stuck, but more likely this is about some kind of anxiety about not having finished something or possibly feeling unprepared about something going on currently in your life. Dream interpretation can be quite literal or very hidden and sometimes even a play on words. I've actually had dreams that have come true around a year or so after having them. I only know this because I used to keep a dream diary. I'm 47 and have a recurring dream that I have a gymnastics meet (I was a Elite gymnast) and I can't find my leotards, handgrips, etc and I miss my name being called to go up and compete. This is due to my feeling I left something unfinished and also the fear of not being prepared in life. I also dream of High School quite a bit, because I missed so much of it while training and that feeling of having missed out lingers and causes me to fear what I may be missing out on in life. You say you feel uncomfortable, this could be the key to what the dream means for you. Feelings in dreams are usually the main indicator of what they are about because they can be interpreted in so many different ways. Because it is a theme that keeps coming up, if I had to guess I would think that because it is a different school, your subconscious is telling you that you have unfinished business, probably nothing at all to do with school. Or the fact it is a different school could mean nothing. Your feeling in the dream is best indicator of why you keep having it.
Hope this helps somewhat.
Yup me too - it's always highschool and like others said, I'm looking for the classroom, I haven't been there in at least a month and I need the credits to graduate. Interestingly, it's always math class in my dream. And I have always had an aversion to math (it started in 2nd grade when my teacher was just mean.)
I guess it's anxiety in some form. I'm glad to know it's common though.
I have the same issue with Math & a mean Math teacher in 3rd Grade, lol. Funny how a Grade school teacher can form a life-long aversion to something.
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I have a recurring dream that I am back in junior high school and have forgotten the combination on my locker. It only happens when I am sick and have a fever. Having studied the interpretation of dreams in one college class years ago, they
do often have a basis in your subconscious mind. For me that was a source of anxiety back then and therefore pops up when I feel poorly. In your case it is likely that whether you realized it or not at the time, you had some doubts or stress over finishing your degree, or that you chose the right degree.
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