Using the concepts of identity and agency, this "Perspectives" article discusses my recent efforts of self-development when designing an identity-oriented Teaching English as a second language (TESL) teacher education course around teacher candidates' semester-long autoethnography writing assignment called "critical autoethnographic narrative" (CAN). It specifically unpacks the ways I negotiated and enacted my identities of teacher educator and researcher of teacher education while I was incorporating identity as the main goal in teacher candidates' learning. In closing, this article offers recommendations for TESL teacher educators who consider designing identity-oriented courses and suggests some future research directions.