This is not the eye of a 20-something. It is the eye of an overworked student working 40 hours a week and having severe problems with sleep and mood swings *.
That said...I don't have time for an undergraduate degree. I haven't really explained how this whole school/work thing works (or doesn't) for me, so here's the general idea:
I have a bachelor's degree in Professional Writing. I love paleontology. I chose writing over paleontology because I was afraid that a getting a science degree would be challenging and that I would fail. I'm sick of being afraid and I know I'm capable of succeeding, so I'm going back to school. I need very basic science courses, plus a whole slew of not-so-basic courses, in order to obtain another bachelor's degree, which is why I am not getting my master's degree. I cannot afford to go to school full-time because the government thinks that one bachelor's degree is enough and refuses to give any "need-based" aid. As a result, I am working full-time at a university and taking 15 credits a year for free. At this rate, I will have my B.S. in XXX (insert name of self-designed major) in about 6 years.
SIX YEARS!!! If I work really hard I might have a PhD by the time I'm 40.
I want to read as much as I can, keep up with the latest discoveries, get a grip on sauropod phylogeny...but I just don't have time.
I don't want to complain too much. I know that the courses I'm taking now will provide me with a nice foundation for the courses I'll be taking later on. And why not enjoy the process, right? Introductory chemistry is actually really interesting and calculus is fun...sorta like doing a lot of little puzzles.
*I'm pretty sure I can blame the Nuva Ring for my mood swings. Despite claims that side effects are minimal, I just can't believe that adding a dose of hormones into my body every day doesn't have any effect on my emotional state.
