I once dreamed about being an ant. As a matter of fact, it was more of a reoccuring dream. I think it initially came as the result of me watching the Disney movie, "A Bug's Life." All of my neighborhood friends starred as the cast of this dream, and we were a united colony of ants. Our parents happened to be the grasshopper enemies. We would play baseball (don't ask me how ants played baseball) and go swimming all day. By dinner time we would go out in search of various pieces of nature or dead flies. That's where we ran into trouble. The grasshopper clan had it in their head that the dead flies were reserved for their own stomachs, so no ants should have the right to "steal" from them. Regardless, we made an effort to steal the dead flies from the grasshoppers. We knew we would have to be quick about it, so we would run in and then sprint out and hide under an umbrella-style plant. We would see the giant grasshoppers through the little cracks in the leaves of the plant, as they walked by searching for us. It was so frightening to me when I was younger, just the thought of being caught by these grasshoppers. And of course, the conclusion of every one of these dreams was me being caught by a grasshopper and taken away. He would throw me up in the air, and I would fall painfully on my back. However, right before I was about to hit the ground, I would wake up from the dream with heavy breathes.
To this day, I don't understand the symbolism behind this reoccuring dream. Maybe it is that the neighborhood has to stick together, or maybe it is that my parents will always catch me when I am up to no good. Regardless, I still have this dream from time to time. It only occurs about once a year, but I have become a lot less fearful of the grasshoppers over the years. I think that in itself has some symbolism, too. I care less about getting caught by my parents now-a-days, because I am becoming an adult and can make decisions for myself. My neighborhood crew has kind of grown apart over the high school years, but they are still my protective body in a lot of ways. Whenever I am down, or in a bad mood, they cheer me up. Whenever my parents are yelling at me, and I need somewhere to go, they're there for me. Whenever I am having a bad day, and wish to reminisce, my mind always travels to the various adventures we had in our younger days. It's nice to have that protective body to defend against the various "grasshoppers" in life. Whether they be parents, bullies, drama, anxiety, sadness, whatever... they are still no match for my ants (sorry, that was corny).
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