9th grade me.
When I was in high school, I had a criminology, history, and economics teacher named Miss Miller.
Miss Miller had held many, many jobs before becoming a high school teacher, and she loved telling us about them. She'd worked in advertising, accounting, and I'm pretty sure at a magazine. I don't remember all her previous professions now, but the running joke among us students, who absolutely adored her, was that one day she'd tell us she'd been a race car driver, and none of us would even be surprised.
Cut to today.
I work as a substitute teacher in a K–6 building. And I absolutely LOVE my job!
I've always wanted to be a middle or high school teacher, but being an immigrant child, I became a lawyer instead, followed by a years-long depression. And yes, I am a licensed attorney, even though I'm not currently practicing law. But anyway, that's a story for another day.
Today, I was reminded of Miss Miller.
Teachers at my school often tell the kids that I'm not just any substitute teacher, that I'm also a lawyer and an author. And the kids are always so fascinated by this. Apparently, being a published author is a pretty big deal when you're ten.
I suppose that being an immigrant and having a serious thirst for knowledge, I've dabbled in quite a few things over the years. I've translated a play. I've interpreted closed captions and legal documents. I've traveled quite a bit. I was even in a musical! I take vocal lessons. I take piano lessons. And, of course, I write books.
So I suppose I do have a lot to share.
Today, a teacher commented, "Wow, you always have the best stories! You've done so much!"
And suddenly, I thought of Miss Miller.
Wait a minute.
Am I Miss Miller now?
Am I the race car driver?
It's funny how certain teachers stay with us long after we've left their classrooms. I haven't been in Miss Miller's classroom in decades, but here I am, thinking about her because of something someone said to me at work.
And maybe that's the best part of teaching. You never really know what your students will remember about you thirty years later.
I wonder if Miss Miller ever knew how much we loved her stories.