Four days a week, I wake up between 5:45 and 6 a.m. I scrape ice off my car, sometimes–like today–in sub-zero weather. I drive to work on icy roads as the sky gradually lightens. My fingers sting for the 10 minutes it takes my car to warm up enough to start spewing heat.

None of this is extraordinary hardship, but these all are things I swore I’d never do again, not for any job. And that’s where the irony comes in: because I love what I’m doing, and I wouldn’t trade it, all those cold, early mornings notwithstanding.

Besides, my schedule has its perks: three-day weekends, a workday that’s finished at 9:45 a.m. (well, there’s always grading, but I don’t have to be anywhere at any specific time after 9:45 a.m.), and a bunch of bright, interesting, fun students who make teaching an absolute delight.

I feel very fortunate indeed.