[blueerica]

I keep trying to come up with the right way to put this, so I suppose I'll give you my background. I finished HS and went on to college only to stop because I wanted to work and was making some decent money - plus, I had some major family trauma going on at the time... really easy to stop focusing on school that way. I kept telling everyone that I would go back and finish my degree and a part of me meant it, but as the months and years went by it became increasingly difficult to 'restart' the process of finishing everything.

What woke me up to reality was my trip to Spain. On a whim, I decided to find out what it would take for me to move there - not that I was planning to, but simply just getting the info. I quickly discovered what a process it was to get a visa, etc, and that if I wanted to do anything overseas I would need to have a bachelor's degree and some quantifiable skills. I never felt so trapped in my life. Much the same for even cities outside of CA around the US - it's hard to move without something 'special' and frankly, as much as anyone might love me, I was far from special.

Feeling trapped, I looked into what classes it would take to finish school and decided to return for a bachelor's in Business Marketing. Hard. As. Hell. I didn't feel like I fit in with any of the young people I was going to class with. Everything felt more difficult and though I luckily had a strong support network of family and friends, I know that if I wasn't so fortunate, I'd have to do it all while holding down a full-time job and paying the bills. So yeah, I'm finishing this semester, but only after a helluva lot of busting my ass, and I'm lucky to have what I have - most people aren't that lucky.

So, I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's easier to do the HS/college thing now than it is later... before the job, the bills, the family, the BS comes onto the scene. Ask any person who's done it - I know we have more than a few on this board. I guess that's what I'm trying to get at - do it while it's easy. You might think it's easier to work a while and go back at your own leisure, but for most of us getting older has meant less leisure than what we had as teens.

If I could take a ship back into time, I would never have quit. Sure, I've learned a LOT along the way, and perhaps I've been exposed to different opportunities, but I have a feeling I'd be a close facsimile to the person I am today.

And damn it, it's easy to look back and say all of this, but I know it would have been next to impossible to convince the girl who quit school seven years ago.