Samantha's Puppy... holy crap! You're post on page 2 hit the nail on the head.

When I was a teen I was like that.... 'What do you know? It's so hard. ect. ect.'

I'm 27 now and I'm kicking myself. Why didn't I listen to them!?!?

I'm living paycheck to paycheck, trying to pay for a wedding, and I'm so lucky that my parents set some money aside for my wedding, but now, I've dipped into it to pay bills because my money just goes *poof*.

They only want me to have more than what they have and to be honest, I'd love to have a house like theirs and be able to go to Hawaii... but ha! Not the way I save.

And I make more money than Andy. I love him very much but the thought of starting a life together scares the crap out of me. Neither of us are good at saving and my parents try to tell me but do I listen? Nooooooo....

But I digress....

It's true every situation is different.

My aunt is a wonderful artist but she never went to college...never got a degree. She had an awesome job doing what she loved.

Then one day, management changed, and she was let go and a guy with a degree hired into her position.

She now works in a factory because no one will hire her because she doesn't have a degree.

Maybe some people can get lucky, but it never hurts to have that slip of paper.

I was a horrible test taker too. I'm content that I did my best. I had a 3.0 average and to be honest, I don't think the college I went too ever looked at my High School grades. Maybe it was because they were a community college... I don't know. I'm sure the bigger name colleges look at that, but I'm not certain.

I'm just rambling now....