Are you a teacher?

The other day I was in the office supplies section of Wal-mart picking up some last minute things for my little-sister's Christmas gift. You can read about that here. Anyway, a boy with special needs came up to me to show me a book he had found in the next isle. I talked to him about the book, and what grade he was in, his teacher, his favorite subject, Christmas, and the things he liked to do, and told him that reading is such a good hobby to have. We were having a good time and suddenly the woman who was standing behind us looking at pens turned around and asked, "Are you a teacher?" I told her I was going to be one day. She was actually his mom and said she could tell because usually when he tries to talk to people, they ignore him, or try to avoid him. She could tell by the way I was treating him, like a normal kid, that I was a teacher. It was then that I finally realized that I don't just feel like a teacher because of my classes and working in the schools and all of the work I have put in, but because something has actually changed about me that others notice now too. I feel like a teacher because I AM one...a pre-service teacher, but none-the-less.