Sophomore or Teacher?

So, that was the caption under a picture of me in the Richmond Academy yearbook during my first few years in the classroom. I know it will come as a surprise to all of you that I look young and since I'm petite, I can easily blend in with high school students, but it's true.


Well, it was true. This is my eleventh year teaching and somewhere along the way, folks stopped assuming I was a student. I was no longer stopped in the hall and asked for my pass. I was no longer asked on dates by students. (This is a good thing.) No one walked into my classroom and asked, "Where's your teacher?" I actually hadn't noticed that these things had gone away. That is, until Friday.

On Friday, I was at the high school to work with a teacher. I was walking down the hallway to meet with her and passed two young men along the way. They glanced at me and then rounded the corner. Then I heard, "Damn, was that a teacher?!" I kind of smiled and had a moment of nostalgia since I hadn't heard that in a while.

Isn't it funny what makes us feel young? What makes you feel young?