The purpose of this research was to experience firsthand how the integration of global learning and 21st century skills would logistically work, and what the experience would be like both for the teacher and for the students involved. The research was conducted in an urban middle school in a classroom void of curricular standards, and without mandated assessments. This narrative inquiry has two parallel strands; that of the researcher/teacher, and the stories of the students told by the researcher. Through the combined stories themes of teacher transformation, new teacher-student relationships, and global awareness both for the teacher/researcher and students begin to emerge.