Does this happen to anyone else?

My dreams used to be pretty straightforward- a lot of random pictures and emotions with no connection to reality. Then a couple of years ago they started getting more realistic. If I was being lazy about getting an essay done, I'd start having bad dreams about it, like me failing my cl etc, until I got the work done. People I'd left on bad terms with, like ex-friends, I'd be seeing them in my dreams, one of whom I actually sent an email of apology to because I felt so bad every time I dreamed about her. The dreams stopped after that. And sometimes when I'm asleep I'm aware that I'm in a dream, on a basic level, and I can make decisions about what I do there, although since dreams don't last long I can't do too much. One of my friends says she hardly dreams at all and can't make any sense of them when she does. Why does it happen to me and not her, does anyone know?