Mistaken Identity

Sometimes I'm mistaken for things I am not. Of course, being short causes me to be mistaken for a kid at school. And for some reason I get mistaken for a store worker all the time, at any store. Somehow I am rummaging around the store, when someone comes up to me and asks me where something is at. I try to help them, but when I'm not positive about where something is they look at me and say, "You don't know? Don't you work here?' I'm not sure how I look like a store worker, but okay, maybe.
However, a little while ago I was truly mistaken for something I'm not. I was talking with a teacher about a book I had just read. We started wrapping up the conversation, and then she exclaimed "Hey, you're an environmentalist, I have just the book for you." I turned around to see who had just come into the room. When I didn't see anyone, I quickly turned back around and smiled. As she continued talking about how beautiful the book was, I wondered how she thought I was an environmentalist. Hmmmm. . . . I mean I try, kind of, um. . .I have cloth grocery bags, I love nature and um. . . hmmm. . . Then I prayed she wouldn't follow me back to class, because a picture of the overflowing trash can with students' papers in my room came to mind. Someone took our recycling bin, and not being an environmentalist, I hadn't replaced it. Then I thought about all of the Arbor Day and Earth Day contests that I never had my students enter. An environmentalist hmmmm?
Now, I would like to say I often hear conservative radio show hosts talk about how teachers are brainwashing children about global warming and save the earth campaigns, but I must say it is the other way around. Just a few weeks ago, my students wrote and gave speeches. They could write on anything they wanted. Usually, I get speeches about sports, fashion, and music. This year over three fourths of the class talked about global warming, saving the earth, saving the polar bears, and helping animals. They made a plea to recycle and save energy, Being a supportive teacher, I decided if it was that important to them I would take their challenge. Not only did I find our class recycling bin, but I also added another one by my desk. Then I even took the challenge to turn off one of the lights to conserve energy.
The light conserving argument had started a few months earlier when my class came running in and told me how we could save the earth by only turning on one light. I of course stared at them and shook my head. "Ummm guys why do you think they put two sets of lights in here?" I answered my own question. "Because you need two lights to see." I turned off one light. "Look you're all fuzzy. I can barely see you!" I exclaimed. Then I flipped back on the light and that was that. However, with their enthusiasm from their speeches, I started class the other day with only one light on and the blinds open. It actually wasn't that different. They came in and someone flipped on the other light. I smiled and said, "Your speeches inspired me, let's try only one light today." "Yeah!" They cried. "We're going to save the polar bears!" And so now, every time someone goes to throw away something, they cry, "Put it in the recycling basket, Save the polar bears." (Seriously, they are really worried about those polar bears.) And so while, I'm not sure that we're exactly saving polar bears, we are being more energy and recycling conscious. Why just the other day I rinsed out my grape juice bottle and threw it in the recycling bin at home. Which may cause people to mistake me for an environmentalist, and maybe that's okay.