If my chemistry teacher in high school knew I've been dreaming of the elements and seeing the periodic table in my dream last night he would probably smile.
When I woke up at 2am after dreaming of the position of some of the elements in the periodic table I remembered that when I was in high school at an oral exam I told the teacher that there was too much going on in my life at that moment, that I was moving abroad and was visiting places I would never see again, seeing my friends and staring at their faces I would never see again, eating food I would never taste again and simply trying to squeeze as much of the images I could in my memory before I left the country. Above all... I made the bold statement: I know how important chemistry is but right now I have no time for this, I promise I will look into chemistry in depth in the future, now you can ask me the questions.
Wow!
I have no idea what the teacher thought of that, but upon reflection now, I must have been very confident (or insolent) to say something like that (aahhh teenagers). So peculiar I remembered this episode in my life after so many years… HAHAHAA..
The teacher said: if you are actually leaving the country for good, there is no way I will let you go with no Chemistry knowledge. It would be a disgrace if abroad they thought you are an example of an Argentine student and you will not be a good ambassador when this country is so rich in Chemists and of all sorts of people engaging in science.
I was still feeling very strong. I waited for the questions and was ready to tap into my memory and general knowledge to answer them even though I had not studied for the exam.
After the 5 questions he said seriously: you passed.
I can't remember if he had actually asked very easy questions or if I had the answers right when drawing the sequence on the board but what the teacher didn't know was that he left an impact with those words he said and I was going to fulfil my promise and study chemistry when the time was right.
I was already good at being curious and looking into subjects that would have some significant application on my everyday life. Like food.
I started studying nutrients in foods since I was about 12 specially because I was into a lot of sports and needed to eat well. As a result, I had a basic knowledge of chemistry but was only when I moved to France years later that the association of different elements and the way they can help or affect our energy became a priority.
Many studies have been done on this subject of course, but I found that ultimately the best guidance is listening to one's own body needs and giving the particular nutrient/element that is lacking when required.
In my case if I don't listen to my body early enough I will get the message in my dream, so sooner or later a reminder of Chemistry will come to the foreground.
Last night I dreamed of the element 19 that is "K" in the periodic table. I know that Potassium is involved in nerve function and that would explain why I woke up from the dream feeling pressure in my cervical disk area (neck), feeling all in all very weak and with an upset stomach.
I quickly thought of something I could find in the kitchen that would help and ate a banana. It took me forever to do this, firstly because I was sleepy and don't usually eat at night, secondly because I had no energy to accomplish such a task, even breathing seemed such an effort.
When I went back to bed, quickly fell asleep and my upset stomach seemed to be put to rest as well.
In the morning I was happy I had payed attention to my dream since the potassium and essential nutrients in the banana were easy to digest and provided me with what I needed to see me through the night until breakfast.
