A Realization

Last night was the last session of the writing class that I have been taking for the past six weeks.  One of the students asked if she could share a poem that she had written just that afternoon.  In the poem she explained that she now felt that she could call herself a writer and after a long search she realized that this was who she was and what she was meant to do with her life.  She was very emotional as she shared this poem as was another woman in the class.  The second woman had been writing all of her life but she never felt  that her work was good enough so she would throw her stories away.  Now, at this point in her   life she was finally accepting the fact that she has real talent and she was mourning the loss of her work.  It was a very emotional class for everyone but I am
sure one that will make a difference in the lives of everyone that shared those two hours.
This morning I woke up thinking about how I would answer the question, "Who am I?"  There are many answers to that question but the first answer that came to mind was - "I am a teacher!"  Not a teacher in the same way as when I was in the classroom.  Now, through my writing, workshops, or just conversations I hope I can teach about living life through the experiences I have had and will continue to have.  It is a different type of teaching but one that I enjoy very much.  So if someone asks me what do you do, it will be wonderful to still be able to answer, "I am a teacher!"  What would you answer if someone asked, "Who are you?"