IDENTITY

__IDENTITY __ by, Ms. Paul

My name is Stefan ie Paul. Those who know me well call me Steffi. I think I am a good teacher. I hope my children would say I am a good mother and my husband better say I am a good wife! Teacher, mother and wife are a big part of my identity but there is more to me than that. I love music and anything having to do with music. Of course most of all I love listening to music but then there is dancing to music, reading about music, talking about music; Hey, I even like just thinking about music. I like to sing though I know I am no good at it. Surely my bad singing hurts my family’s ears but I am not stopping! I try to play a few instruments but I am afraid I do not practice enough so //try// is all I do. I suppose that’s better than nothing. I always wish I had more time to just do my music!

What do I look like? Well, to my students I probably look a bit like a grandma, I am sure old enough to be one. To my husband I still look like the young, long black haired girl he married so long ago. He’ll think I am pretty no matter how old I get. I’m lucky for that. To myself, I sometimes look like an old woman then sometimes I see that young, smiley girl with big open brown eyes who was, and still is, eager to see the world. It’s funny that no matter how old you get the young person you once were is always right there with you.

What am I like inside? That’s a hard one to answer. My mind is always busy and has been since I was a small girl; busy mind and big mouth. I was that student who was forever in trouble for talking in class. I never missed the work though but as soon as I had it finished, I started chatting with my neighbor. I had to unload whatever was on my mind. Some teachers were very mean to me and I wanted to grow up and become a teacher who treated children fairly. I also wanted to become a teacher because I have always loved children. When I was a child, I always helped care for the younger children in my life. I also liked explaining things and I think being able to do that is a talent of mine. When a student gets it, I feel happy. I also love to laugh so I guess I have humor inside and am always pleased to have someone with whom I can share a joke. So go ahead, try and make me laugh! Just do your work first!