This study examines the experiences of ten first-year English teachers in various school contexts in two Northeastern states. Through a phenomenological approach to in-depth interviewing, teachers were interviewed at the end of their first year of teaching. Commonalities in teachers' experiences include former teachers' influences on their teacher personae, negotiating their authoritative role in the classroom, understanding how and why to set boundaries with students, and demonstrating resilience and resolve in the face of multiple challenges. Implications for teacher education and induction programs are to address the disequilibrium of the self in early teaching experiences and to model habits of mind that promote "productive disequilibrium." (Contains 1 table.)