I wanted to marry a certain girl so bad (who was attending another in-state school) that I studied 100% of the time and worked as a draftsman the other 100%.
I showered from time to time, ate lots of starchy junk food and diet coke, and went to work, class, and labs. A 'party' was ordering a #3 at Taco Mayo with EXTRA guacamole.
I ended up marrying the girl, graduating debt free, getting a decent job (at the time in a poor local economy), moved back to my hometown, and began in earnest the process of making redheaded babies. Bravo Zulu to me.
I completed my bachelors degree in 4 years while working 40 hours a week through the semesters and 60 hours during the summer. Working 4, 10 hour shifts Mon -Thursday nights allowed me to have weekends free. After graduation I went to work in a field not related to my education.
I was in college during the Draft era of the Vietnam war. Tried my best to keep grades up, work 40hrs a week, study, and support a wife. It didn't work. You can only burn so many candles at both ends.
I refused to go even though kind folks offered to pay for most of it. I didn't want to be dependent for several more years, and I was lucky enough to have a decent job out of high school and sock away some cash, buy land, build a house and basically establish myself.
Part of me wishes I would have got it over with starting at 18.
A bigger part of me is glad I got established and became independent with the route I chose, and I think if I do decide to go back to school it will be purely to increase my happiness, not to make money or "get that paper to get that job". I also had no idea what I wanted to do at 18, so odds are I would have regretted whatever education choices I made. In fact, odds are 100% I would have regretted them. I'm I'm still young and the odds are fairly high I will go to school as an adult. I just played the hand I was dealt and I'm grateful it worked out.
Funny/sad thing is the only careers I would ever go to school for would pay less than what I make now. (Teaching would be at the top of the list). But money has never been a motivator to me.