Thread: First (proper) Lucid Dream!

Howdy guys/girls, it's been along time since I've really been on here for a full session, a passing glance at some articles being the most I can manage with the pressure of exams and such bearing down. As a result I've also had little time to fully practice lucid dreaming (that's somewhat of a theme with me it seems). What brings me back is what I think was my first, full length, properly in control Lucid dream.
For the past few days I've been off in Wales with a few friends on a trip, as such it's not my normal sleeping environment and the bed is much smaller than I'm used to back at home. I didn't struggle getting to sleep, actually going to bed much earlier than I normally do. I also kept most of my clothes on and my watch due to the cold weather and the snow that followed us for the trip. I remember waking up several times during the night. These awakenings were normally due to the covers having slipped off the small bed or a noisy dorm-mate, however they were very brief, normally giving me enough time to readjust my position or pull the covers back onto the bed. I remember waking up at around 3am on the second night and swiftly falling back asleep.
What followed was an extremely surreal experience for me. I had fully expected Lucid dreaming to feel in a way much like normal dreaming, not really knowing what it felt like myself.

I remember a large dark emptiness, as if staring out into a great void. I could feel myself in terms of my spirit or being occupying the space, but could feel no physical body. A thought crossed my mind that I should attempt to fill the void with some reality, some sense of feeling. I began to imagine the painted metal girders that they have at my school, the bumpy surface of the metal covered by smooth white paint, a glossy finish. As I thought about the metal, how it felt to rub my hand along it, it began to materialise within the void. At first there was just a small segment of the girder floating in the nothingness with a faint outline of my hand against it. I could feel every bump of the surface and the gloss finish of the paint. I began to focus on this feeling and the image and sensations of the girder began to grow stronger.
This miracle of bringing matter into existence was not strange or alien, it seemed completely natural and fluid to me. All of the sudden my sensations were overwhelmed. From the girder the dream world seemed to burst out from a central point and form around me, big bang style. I found myself standing in the School Library, my hand stretched out touching the girder which now formed part of the structure. This was a new feeling for my subconscious or spiritual self, a feeling of being completely solid and physical. Within normal dreams I have no real feeling of being, more a feeling of observing as if I were in a film or Video Game. It was actually as if I were standing in the library, I could feel my feet on the floor, my hand against the structure, gravity acting on me with it's familiar pull.
I also experienced another feeling, one I rarely feel within even semi-lucid dreams, one of being completely aware I was dreaming. Being the good Oneironaut that I am I remembered the basic principles of dream stabilisation, mainly not to panic or become overly excited. I took my time to observe the environment I had been placed in, a perfect recreation of the library. I ran my fingers along the shelves and book covers, observed how the sunlight shone through the vast length of windows and how the library seemed to be occupied by students in the correct uniform. I had no feeling of dread or panic that the dream may collapse, I felt perfectly confident and in control of the dreamscape, but as not to impose myself upon it.
Seeing these other students fired off another realisation in my mind, that they were infact dream characters and not actual students from school. I began to walk around the library and out of the doors into the main lobby outside the library. This was even busier, being full of people rushing to and from various places, standing around chatting to one another. I turned now to walk out of the lobby and down a vast flight of stairs, intent on walking to the main lower corridor of the school. In the waking world the stairs are at least several meters tall at a time, but being in a dream I decided to launch myself down them knowing that no harm would come my way. I was correct in my assumption and landed on my feet perfectly with no harm done whatsoever.
Upon reaching the bottom main corridor I came across several people I knew from school. some friends and others people that I saw around often and exchanged friendly words with occasionally. As this was a Lucid dream I was keen to interact with dream characters to see how they react. I began to walk with one of my "friends" paying close attention to what they were saying and listening intently before randomly smacking them on the cheek, hard enough to give them a shock. Some were confused by this gesture but continued with their conversation whilst others were genuinely horrified or laughed out loud at the randomness of the moment.
After repeating this process with several people I jolted up awake, excited and keen to write this story down and to broadcast it to the receptive audience at DV. Thank you if you got this far through my wall of text and I would appreciate any comments or thoughts, or any feedback on why you thought I was successful at getting Lucid and how you think I could improve.