What is my “real” life?

Lately, I feel like I am suffering from multiple personalities. From the time I wake up — which is FAR too early for my taste — I am a teacher. This a job I feel comfortable doing. I love teaching psychology because I can translate my passion for the subject into my lectures. I’d like to think I give the kids a good “show.” Teaching US history is also a role that makes me feel confident. While I have students who are not as enthusiastically receptive as my psychology students, I can reach some of them with my goofy stories, and I hope they are infected with my love for the past.

When the last belll rings, I get everything ready for the next day, then I become someone else. I’m a homemaker. My Schnauzer needs a nice long walk. There’s always laundry to do or a dishwasher to empty. While my nest is empty, it still gets messy. I pick things up and make the place presentable.

The next personality I morph into is Secretary of Indiana RWA. There is usually an email box full of messages I need to work through. And of course, I have to go through any personal emails as well. By the time I check those and make a quick stop on my Facebook to see if there are messages, I have to shift back to homemaker. Dinner and all… Although I’ll confess that dinner is often whatever I can grab through a drive-through window. Shame on me.

When dinner is over, I become the last of my personas. I become a writer. But even here, I can’t dive right into my stories. I might have a chapter to work on from my wonderfully productive on-line critique partner. (Love you, Leanna! You’re the only writer I know who can keep up with me!) I’m also mentoring a student who is working on a series of fantasy novels. So I have to make time to devote to her. Then, if I’m really lucky and haven’t reached the point of exhaustion, I can add a few pages to one of my current works-in-progress.

So I have to ask — who am I?