hey, that's MY commute. only the 6% grade on my commute is in the last half, not the first half.
It will get better. I commuted over 100 times this year and I can tell you it DOES get better. But you're never going to feel like a butterfly going up that hill. It will always be work, but I promise, it WILL get better.

PS you have to start from somewhere and the fact is, you ARE getting up that hill.