Educational Living

As far back as I can remember, I loved school.  I don't know if it reflects back on me trying to be the opposite of my siblings so I can make Mom's life easier, or if I just took to school like an otter to water.  From an early age I was told by family that I was going to go to college.  It was just a given.
My brother rewarded me if I did well in a semester, especially if I made the honor roll.  I made the honor roll a lot.
Learning was fun to me.  Yes, there were subjects I didn't excel in, but for the most part I enjoyed school.  I didn't mean to be a teacher's pet, but I tended to be responsible and I liked most of my teachers, so I tended to thank them at the end of the year.  I was kind of a short adult.
Junior high was hard.  Not the classes--the classmates.  I was picked on and made fun of.  Kids can be such assholes.
In junior high, I discovered Home Economics and Art and Earth Science (though I was sure at the time that I didn't want a job in science).  I got to learn how to bake in Home Ec.  Something is greatly enjoy still.
Art was taught by my uncle, who wouldn't let anyone bully me in class.
And I got to TA Earth Science in 8th grade.  My teacher was a former classmate of my Mother's.  He was a goofy guy, and I really got a chance to start having fun in science.
By the time I'd reached high school, I was basically a goody goody.  I liked learning for the most part, possibly because I learned things easily or, if things were more difficult to grasp, I had good teachers.
At 18, I was ready to give college a try.  I got good grades in HS, mostly A's, and was pretty sure I'd be able to manage higher education.  Boy, was I wrong.

Everything in college was hard.  High school hadn't prepared me for the study habits necessary in college.  Unless I had a project to work on, I almost never had homework in HS.  In fact, I often studied for 5-10 minutes, total, before a big test, and still managed to pass easily.
In my first few college classes, I was supposed to read 50 or 60 pages of textbook before a lecture.  What had been almost too easy in the past was now scarily hard.  It didn't help that I was pining for the Mister at the time, either.
When I completed my freshman year of school in May of 2000, I ended up taking a year and a half off from school.  The Mister and I were first in Canada, then back in the states with me being the sole provider because he couldn't work due to immigration timing.
Finally we were able to move back to my college town and I finally re-enrolled in January 2002.  Slowly but surely, I developed study skills, and some people skills (to glean study skills from) enough to get my feet under me.  I declared my major and things took off for me.
Once I declared, I really started to feel good about school again.  It became, once again, something I enjoyed.  I'm sure there were plenty of times when I got frustrated, overwhelmed, and wanted to throw in the towel.  But I stuck it out and by the time I reached the upper-level classes of my major, I loved school.  I was able to learn things that really interested me, speak with others who had it in common with me, and even connect with a few of my professors.
I know my academic advisor was disappointed I didn't go into grad school--she knew how passionate I was about physical geography and really thought I'd be a great teacher.  By the time I graduated, I couldn't imagine sticking around longer and becoming masochistic enough to do grad school.

Which brings me to now....
Now, I've been out of school for 5 years.
Now, I still don't have a job in my field.
Now, I'm working mostly office jobs that don't seem to be satisfying my need to use my brain.
Now, I'm temping in an office on campus and the nostalgia of being back here is making me sigh with longing.
Now, I'm considering going back to school.  For another degree, not graduate school.
Now, I'm questioning my sanity.

I'm not saying that office work isn't difficult sometimes, but I still sometimes get very frustrated that I have a valuable education that I don't get to utilize in the office setting.  Such is the life for a lot of people in this town, I think.  We get the education, graduate, but want to stay because the town itself is so nice.
No matter what path I choose for myself, I know that I'm still young enough to find a career that I can spend a lot of years working in.  I just want to find one that doesn't make me think I wasted a lot of money and time on a useful, but under-utilized, degree.