Intrigued and curious to understand possible reasons that lead people to continue their academic studies, the main purpose of this research is to understand, through discourse, what motivations led three friends and I to continue our academic education, enrolling in master s and doctorate programs. From the verbalization of our motivations, I reflect critically on the way that identities and emotions shape our perceptions of ourselves and the reasons that led us to continue our education. In order to do this, I turn to an interdisciplinary theoretical framework, which includes: the contemporary perspective of Applied Linguistics; Exploratory Practice; identities; narratives; emotions; autoethnography and Appraisal System. This research is part of the qualitativeinterpretative paradigm, being closely related to Contemporary Applied Linguistics, to the ethical-methodological perspective that characterizes Exploratory Practice and to practitioner research. I analyse exploratory conversations, conceptualized as reflective dynamic processes that generate new understandings about issues that emerge from life in different contexts, including the academic one. From the analysis of these conversations, I understood that, when we tell narratives, my friends and I co-construct our identities as researchers and teachers through explicit linguistic manifestations of positive and negative affects and judgments. These manifestations also occurred when we addressed the relationships we had and still have with friends and family, with our master s and doctoral advisors and with other professors throughout our education. These findings make me reflect on the importance of the encouragement of family and friends, as well as that of teachers and educators in students lives.