I talk about teaching almost all the time. I have a friend, not a teacher, who often says to me "no work!" when we're having dinner. I generally oblige, talking instead about other, mutual interests. However, in the back of my head there's always this little voice protesting the change of topic, going "But I'm not talking about work! I'm talking about my life, my passion... Teaching is who I am."

Yesterday I took four students to across the city to compete at #BattleoftheBard2016. It's a theater competition wherein students create original scenes by mashing up only the words and works of Shakespeare. The top three teams in each bout move on to finals. We didn't win, but we did well. On the way home, the students started talking about what they want to do for this year's school play. Yesterday was Saturday.

This morning I went to an aikido seminar. As a 4th kyu, I was one of the more junior participants there. There were around 50 black belts on the mat and students in the high kyu ranks as well. One of the highest ranked senseis in the world led the seminar.

Generally the etiquette at a seminar like this is to shut up and follow along as best as one can. Yet I found myself seeking out the white belts - those new students who were so uncertain that they wouldn't even approach someone unless that person smiled at them first. I worked with two higher ranked students in the day; I could have done that more. Those white belts would have found other people to work with and I could have been challenged to improve my own technique in ways I wasn't when I worked with the newest aikidoka. And yet, it's a choice I made

And then I taught. Not too much (I hope), but I taught, and by taught I mean talked. "Left foot here, that's good, kneel down, you got this, yes!" I wanted to be encouraging. I wanted to reassure them that, despite this being their second month or second day, that they did belong and it didn't matter if they could roll or how much they remembered at the end. I wanted them to walk away feeling confident and feeling welcome.

My sensei has cautioned me about talking too much on the mat. I'm working on it; I have a tendency to get bossy and tell people what to do rather than let them figure it out. It doesn't seem to matter if I'm in a school, on the mat, or chatting with a friend - I'm always advising, coaching, questioning, challenging, and cheerleading. And that's how I find myself always thinking

Teaching isn't something I do. It's who I am.