I've been trying to lucid dream off and on for a few months and haven't had any luck. So when I found Dream View's podcast and heard about this academy I thought I would give it a shot. I'm currently in school so it's hard to get a lot of sleep, but most of the time I get 8 hours of sleep. This academy will definitely give me more motivation to get into a routine, which is what I need. Can't wait!

Reality Checks:
-Nose Plug
-Checking the time + date
-Looking at hands/counting fingers

Dream Signs:
-My car - I used to have a lot of dreams about driving, not as much anymore. Most of the time the brakes don't work when I'm driving.
-Lakes - A lot of my dreams will involve being in or near water.
-Friends - I'm usually with friends in my dreams, sometimes I can identify them and sometimes I can't.

Short-Term Goals:
-Get into a routine so I always get 8-9 hours of sleep and record my dreams right when I wake up in the morning.
-Remember at least 5 dreams a week.
-More reality checks

Long-Term Goals:
-Be able to have a lucid dream at least twice a month.
-Question consciousness and perform reality checks without thinking about it.
-Learn to WILD

Lucid/Dream Recall History:
I don't have any lucid dreaming experience. A lot of my dreams (especially on the weekend when I get to sleep in) are really bizarre and vivid. A few months ago when I was trying extremely hard to lucid dream I was remembering an average of 2-3 dreams every night that were really vivid and odd. After a month of recording dreams and having no luck with lucidity I sort of gave up, but I'm back and this time I'm going to stick with it!

Current Technique:
I don't really have a "technique", but I basically perform reality checks throughout the day and ask myself "How did I get here?" a few times a day. On the weekends, I recently start making peppermint tea (I read that peppermint increases dream vividness) before bed and perform WBTBs on Saturday and Sunday. I naturally go to bed around 10pm every night and wake up at 6:20am for school. An alarm clock wakes me up for school, which I have heard can hurt dream recall because instead of first thinking about my dreams when I wake up, the first thing I think about his turning off my alarm clock. Is there any way around this? Or does this not really affect dream recall?