This autoethnography discusses the ways in which I, a veteran and ambitious social studies teacher, can evolve as a teacher and learner to meet all the needs of her students. The literature shows that being a social studies teacher today, is not an easy task. An ambitious social studies teacher must know their subject matter, create a classroom that balances rigor and higher order thinking with kindness, know their students well, both inside and outside the classroom, and give their students a sense of belonging and value. I will address the need for teachers both veteran and novice to grow and evolve as teachers and learners. To illustrate this, I use three poignant instances from my classroom to discuss the challenges and rewards of embedding the competencies necessary to be an ambitious social studies teacher into everyday classroom practice.