Ever since I was young - when I first became aware of my thoughts - my dreams have always been weird and often hard to interpret.

For instance, my first nightmare happened when I dreamt that a bear family was trapped in a house on fire. The poor mama bear stood helpless at the door as her young son, who looked a lot like a teddy bear, tried to escape the fire - only to collapse and die as smoke left his body. Of course, four-year-old me woke up from that horrid dream crying and shaking with fear, just as any four-year-old would.

Another time, when I was fourteen, I had a strange dream about taking a ride on a military-style amusement attraction shaped like an army hangar. During the ride, I came face-to-face with two bald men sitting in front of me, wearing makeup.

During college, I had a dream in which my estranged father was mauled to death by a bear. I woke up crying, even though I hated him. When I consulted my therapist about it, they told me it might have represented some buried resentment.

Another time, I had a dream where I was in Africa, being chased by armed insurgents.

Of course, I've also had the usual dreams - teeth falling out, being in my underwear in class, or getting a bad grade on homework despite not even being in school.

I've consulted psychology, religion, and science to make sense of the strangeness of my dreams, but nothing truly explains them. In the end, they will always be weird.