Awhile back, I had a rather unusual dream that seemed like it came straight out of a horror novel. There was a man, one whom I have never seen before, who killed me. However, I don't think that "kill" is the correct term to use because although he stopped my heart from beating, I was still able to walk, talk, and think. He had made me into what he was, a person who was technically dead, but possessed all the qualities of being alive. Instead of being frightened or outraged at the one who took my life away, I actually adored him and saw him as a father figure. I moved into his house where there were lots of people who were just like us, many individuals who he had "turned" and now were his loyal "children." Then, for some reason, I was wandering outside by myself and I came across this man who was still alive. He knew what I was, even though there was no term for my condition, and told me that he could make my heart beat again. I was conflicted, because I wanted to be alive again but at the same time, I did not want to disappoint my "father" and the family that I had joined. The man made my heart beat again without my consent, for I was still trying to make a choice. I was horrified that he had done this, and I didn't know what to do. I went back to the house, and tried to make my heart stop beating so that my "family" would not notice. But, they noticed right away, and my "father" told me that I could no longer stay with them. I tried to convince him to let me stay, and if not, to at least change me back but he refused and said that I had to leave. That is all that I remember of this dream, but for some reason, this dream in particular has stuck with me. 

I think it’s pretty obvious that the reason that Laura had her recurring dream about being late for graduation is because she was afraid that she would be late for graduation.  Somehow, her mind knows that because she has the habit of oversleeping for class, it is within the realm of possibility that she might oversleep on graduation day as well.  She was worried that since oversleeping was a habit that she possessed throughout all of high school, she would be unable to kick the habit once she was ready to graduate and move on after high school. When Laura finds herself at Nassau Coliseum alone, she is dressed in her gown and is ready to graduate and leave high school behind, but her oversleeping and lateness is a hindrance that forces her to miss a crucial point in her life and to face the disappointment of her friends and family who wanted to see her get her diploma. Living out the worse case scenario in her dreams allowed her to visualize how awful it would be if she missed her own graduation and motivated her to avoid that.