A Common Misconception

A Teacher with Freedom

As a teacher, I learn as much as I do anything else.  My latest lesson has been in maintaining a social life despite teaching full-time.  Like most twenty-three-year-olds in 2011, I’m intrinsically motivated to succeed.  I went straight to college after graduating high school and straight to high school after graduating from my university (SIUE, go Cougars!).  Now that I’m back on a high school schedule, I’ve begun treasuring spontaneity more than ever.  Sure, as an English teacher I love reading, but me-time doesn’t always cut it for an extrovert.

My students assume I don’t do anything outside of teaching.  It reminds me of when I was six and assumed all teachers lived in some secret wing of my grade school.  There's just something about the teaching profession that evokes an ascetic lifestyle, unless you're talking to a teacher, of course.  Sometimes, those assumptions make me feel justified in staying in, but normally they are added encouragement to get out and be with people.  There are few aspects of my life that I value more than being able to go somewhere and be around people my age for a while.

I recently checked out Sol Lounge on Lindell with a few of my friends.  The cover would’ve been $5 had we arrived before 11:00, but we got there at 11:05, so it was $10.  Any rail drink was $6 and the music was mostly dub steps (which is NOT techno, apparently).  All the same, there were glow stick nun chucks, a disco ball, and a nine-foot robot.  It certainly wasn’t my scene and my friend, Meg, who took me there should’ve known that.  It was, however, a new experience that I will value all the same and I appreciate her for bringing me along on another one of our “adventures.”

This is the freedom I most appreciate at my age.  I’m a teacher in his early twenties and getting to act my age with my friends is a precious privilege.  Whether I’m going to open mic night at my favorite bar or checking out any number of the awesome FREE events taking place in St. Louis (I, personally, love Shakespeare in the Park and Live on the Levee, but I’m also excited about checking out Twilight Tuesdays at the Missouri History Museum), the simple fact that I’m out having a good time gives me a strong sense of accomplishment and personal freedom.