I had the same thoughts when I was your age and now I'm 50 years old. I never wanted to commit to an education and instead I focused on artistic pursuits and practical experience. I had passion for history and science but the education seemed like too much work.

I had a good career and things worked well until I was in my early 40's when I went through a series of layoffs and I didnt have an education better than a BA degree to fall back on. The last 10 years have been very tough and at times I thought I'd end up homeless. Things are now looking bright again and I hope I'm on my way back to making a decent living.

I volunteer on weekends at a local museum to feed my still strong passion for history and science. I love it! But here is the tough part:

I see scientists with PHDs and other post graduate credentials working hard in the conservation, research and recovery of the artifacts I dream about just getting to see!

Some are marine archeologists involved in very important work and furthering our understanding of the past in ground breaking work. They are the first people to see certain artifacts in hundreds of years.

Me???

I'm the lame museum tour guide with a polo shirt and a name tag. I speak with passion about the museum and I know visitors are happy to have me there. But I wish I was in the field or lab making discoveries. I want to publish the articles in prestigious journals.

I truly wish I had the foresight to follow my passions in history and science. Perhaps it would be me in the laboratory engaged in saving and understanding relics from our past.

Your passion now will be your passion 40 years from now. Education opens doors and will reveal paths that didn't exist before. At least that's how i feel now but you know what they say about hindsight.

No matter what, formal education or not, keep moving forward and never stop learning!