Most memorable thing a prof ever said to me was, "you're so bright that this class should be a triviality to you. You're just incredibly lazy."
This was after nearly a whole semester of witnessing my work habits, attentiveness in class, and attendance, and then working with me personally for 10 minutes while I tried to catch up to the point where I could pass the final. He could see how easy things came to me, but I had dug myself too deep a hole by then.
I passed, but it wasn't pretty. This was math 222 or something like that.
Oh, what could've been. Being 18-19, suddenly having access to easy money, a new computer, the internet, women, etc. And being used to coasting academically and still achieving high grades... It was not a good mix. I'm happy with how my life turned out but I could've applied myself and been more "successful"...
Success is subjective.
It means something different to almost everyone, though sadly
money and possessions have largely taken the lead in terms of what most people consider the measuring stick for success. The older I've gotten, the more I despise trying to quantify that term as it relates to my life or anyone else for that matter. I've spent an inordinate amount of my 20's and 30's (I'm now 40 and the happiest I've ever been, more on that later).
Your story doesn't sound much dissimilar to mine, though I decided to forgo college directly after high school (this was in 2002, not long after 9/11 happened here in the States) and join the Air Force, with college happening thanks to the government paying for my schooling, based on my 4 years of service.
I was in my 2nd semester of school (mind you, I had just done 4 years of military service, which included 5 combat tours between the Middle East and SW Asia regions) when I realized how much I disliked it. I disliked the agendas too many professors had. I disliked the political pandering that I was exposed to, yes, even in the mid to late 2000's. And more than anything, as a 22-23 year old who had some very, very real world experiences, I disliked most of the kids who were also going to school. The petulance, the lack of respect, the whining about x, y, z, etc.
That's not to say I didn't have some engaging and fun professors who made learning a better experience (one of my favorite classes was Historical Geology).
School (basically anything beyond math) came very easy to me. I didn't have to put a ton of effort in to achieve A's and B's and this was an era before we saw high letter grades handed out like government assistance. You actually had to know what the hell you were doing to achieve a good grade in most classes.
Still, I didn't finish my degree while attending school in person. I left after 2 semesters because I was applying to different jobs and ended up getting a solid offer and work without the Bachelor's yet tied to my name. That would come later thanks to online schooling though a 4 year degree has not been critical to my working career. I would have never finished if I had to put my own money up, vs the G.I. Bill which paid for my education and I felt it wasteful to not take advantage of that earned money through my service in the military.
I honestly don't believe college necessary to make a successful life. Those were BS goods shoved down our throats by K-12 educators who made it very clear that if you don't go to college, you will end up being a bum and working blue collar, hard labor jobs, etc. It was and continues to be nothing more than an assembly line for kids to be drowned in debt with degrees that didn't bring them large windfalls of financial stability, while subsequently destroying critical thinking by way of clear cut political agendas but I digress.
I'm 40 years old today and in 2 years will be effectively retired. I met my current girlfriend last summer and beyond happy with life thanks to our chemistry and mutual desires as it pertains to life. We have similar interests in recreation. Our personalities are incredibly tight, along with sense of humor and artistic tastes. 8 months later, we've still never had one argument, one fight. Communication is elite. Compromise is elite. The love is real, for the first time ever.
I've been pretty smart with the money I have earned in life, coupled with selling my house last year at peak market value, has enabled me to set up a very nice foundation to live without working. My GF receives significant monthly disability benefits through her service time in the Air Force, which coupled with my more modest passive income and money saved, is enough to not have to work, barring some sort of significant life event.
So we're going to be moving west into the Rocky Mountain region (Colorado, Utah, Montana) with a target date/timeline of summer 2026. Land is very cheap in certain areas and we're planning on buying up a few acres in multiple states and then setting up a small, permanent house on one of them, while living life largely on the road, traveling, seeing the country, and eventually world, before our time on this planet is finished.
It won't be a glamourous life. It will be simple and fairly frugal in the grand scheme. But it will provide what we feel and see to be happiness. Joy. Mutual love.
So in essence, without delving further into detail, I'd confidently say that our happiness dictates what success is and we're both, to our bones, completely content with that way of thinking.
