I have a friend who was in a similar situation when we were younger, while he didn’t go Ivy League, he did attend Cal Poly for Engineering. He then went on to get a Master’s Degree from Santa Clara University in Engineering. His parents did everything in their power to help him succeed.

We went to a music festival together and he’d wake up earlier than everyone to do homework. I asked him why he didn’t just relax, after all, we were on vacation. He responded, “Because, I refuse to watch my kids grow up without a bed.”

I learned from our conversation that life is a series of opportunities, that being said, it’s up to you to capitalize on the opportunities you do get, and not let the ones you don’t get hold you back...

It made me wish I could work a little bit harder, then I realized it wasn’t too late. I ended up back in school. I graduated last Spring. I’m now an Engineer, too, and just landed my first job with a big tech company in Silicon Valley.