I have a recurring dream that involves an Asian baby that is left on my doorstep. I get ready for school and am about to walk out my door, and there sits this adorable baby with a letter attached to his blanket that just lists his name, “Ming Lee,” and that he drinks Similac Formula. It has only happened since I started nursing school last August. –Katrina, 23, Richmond, VA

Lauri: Babies symbolize something new in our lives that needs lots of care and attention in order to grow and reach its full potential. That would certainly apply to nursing school! But you didn’t give birth to the baby—it was placed on your doorstep. In waking life, was nursing school a sudden decision? The fact that the baby was Asian indicates that nursing school may be something that is “foreign” to you, something hard for you to understand. The name “Ming Lee” sounds kind of like mingling. And Similac sounds kind of like assimilate. Your dream is cleverly telling you that the “formula” to a successful school experience is to get in there and socialize. After all, the nurses are the ones that do all the socializing and mingling with the patients.

Katrina replies: I am forever saying how nursing is a “foreign” language, and they are teaching us to walk, talk, think and act like a nurse as if joining another culture or breed of people. The whole situation with getting accepted into the program happened so quickly, and it has been a huge adjustment in my life. So yes, it was sudden. Thank you!