This is the story of how and why I became a college professor. I didn't intend to become a teacher, but a series of inspirations drove me to the profession. In this memoir, I've described many of those inspirations which put me on the long road I traveled to have a career I loved. I've also described many experiences I've had both in and outside my teaching career that were interesting and/or important in my life. I was very fortunate to have had a career where I looked forward to going to work each morning, which was not predicted by either my background or my early capabilities. I was very lucky. For that reason, I believe I was an overachiever, which I’m sure is also true for many others.