Collective biographical memory work attends to embodied experiences in relation to selected concepts. This article considers the concept of "the emerging teacher" to explore the relevance of collective biographical memory work for education practitioners. Six memories, written and shared in a series of writing workshops, collectively reveal that memories of emerging as a teacher are soaked in contradictions within vulnerability, chaos and order, and that, importantly, creativity emerges from the spaces in between. In reflecting on our work, we suggest that the approach offers emerging teachers an important liminal space and commonplace for exploring contradictions and allowing creativity.