" So Long Self"

So long self is the theme for the CYT in Schools session where I am teaching four year olds that are truly unruly. However, I find that phrase so fitting for myself because I'm learning to get over the thoughts and Ideas I once had and I have noticed that most schools I teach in ask me to go by my first name.  I always hesitate to say okay because I am so attached to my last name. After 9 years and hundreds of students calling me Miss Gulley I've grown quite fond of it.  I feel like I'm having an identity crisis when I hear a tiny little voice call out "Crystal," it's just weird and takes me a second to realize...oh that's me!  I feel like being called by my first name breaks down the barrier of the teacher/student relationship and what little authority I have is null and void.  That's not necessarily true but I probably think that  because I was taught it's disrespectful to call someone older than me by their first name.  However, I'm becoming fully aware that New York City is a breed of its own and does not do things the "normal" way.  I know my identity doesn't come from my last name so I am choosing to get over it and look at it this way...God is preparing me to take on a new last name one day and Gosh I hope it's soon.
Patiently waiting.
Miss Gulley in Manhattan