It wasn't something I was planning on publicly posting, but since you asked so kindly, I guess I don't mind.

You see, I was taken out of school very young, about grade 6 (US) and "homeschooled" by my parents. Unfortunately, they did not have time to monitor my schooling or help me at all, and I was left to my own devices. I only really studied what I wanted to and fell very, very far behind in general necessary information. It got so bad that around age 13 or so, I did not know how to write proper English. I had to teach myself over again.

Some years later, when all my friends were applying to colleges, I started to realize I was trapping myself. I was afraid that without an education I would have no meaningful future; I was completely lost as to what I would do.

I sort of coasted from there, taking under the table work, temp agency work, lots of physical labor. I was very unfit for it and, after some pushing by a girl I was seeing at the time, I went to get my GED. With a little work and some lucky that I retained information from my own interest in science, I was able to pass my GED with relatively high marks, including a 100% score in Science and Writing. My math was fairly weak (and still is, but getting better.)

So, I really went from a position where I likely had no future at all available to me and in a matter of only a few years had turned it around completely. I decided to never stop learning after that, though I ultimately decided against college, and am now making a good wage in a white collar job. I really don't think it's ever too bad to come back from, even if it feels like it. There has been a time or two that I've been a week away from living on the street and been able to bounce back. It's never easy, but it's possible.