This article discusses the results of interviews with eleven new teachers about what their major fears are when starting to teach. Previous research about teachers' concerns points to a number of problem areas (Fuller 1969; Rutherford and Wall, 1990; Borko and Putnam 1996; Veenman 1984). New data reveal underlying patterns that, at first glance, seem rather disparate. This article reports the summary of patterns that emerged from a set of interviews with high school English teachers in the early stages of their careers. The interviews focused on two central questions: (1) What are the significant frustrations that could influence beginning teachers to leave the profession? and (2) What supports, resources, and preparations influence beginning teachers to remain in the profession? The article cites testimonies from the interviews to illustrate some of the concerns, but it emphasizes the common sources of stress and frustration and the means teachers used to cope with difficult situations, as identified by readers of the transcripts. The analyses of the interview transcripts suggest that a major difficulty that beginning teachers face is the challenge to define for themselves their teacher persona. The analyses also reveal that frustration results from the discrepancy between the teacher's expectations of the teaching experience and the realization of the actual experience. The overall finding from the interviews was the implication that without some interventions to change how the teachers experience their work, it is likely that the discouraged teachers will leave teaching.