Thanks for the reply, Trav.

Well, I have essentially two lines of thinking about this. The first is, astronomy would be a kick-*** job. Looking at stars, discovering things, mapping, building telescopes, probably living and working in really cool places (Chile, Hawaii, etc) since that's where a lot of the big high-powered telescopes are...so, if I HAD to have a 9-5, that would probably be the kind of job I'd like to have. There's some interaction with people, but not so much that I feel overwhelmed (ANYTHING customer-service or sales-related is out of the question for me). Also, I'd spend most of my time in a lab of some sort, doing some independent or small-group work. Which is perfect for me. One of the things I have to consider now is my energy level, and my anxiety. I'm on disability right now, and I do want to go back to work, but when I go back it needs to be sustainable, something I can do that's engaging and won't wear me out/down. Plus, some added bonuses: in order to work at the level I want to work in astronomy, I have to have a PhD. I would start with a double honours in Physics and Astronomy in a really cool little city here, and then go into the MSc, and then the PhD. Once I get to the MSc level, they essentially award their students roughly $22,000 PER YEAR in funding to complete their studies. The funding they award to PhD students amounts to almost $100,000 each! More than any other department. So, if I am a good enough student, and I make it that far, I won't be incurring any debt. And, I can come off disability because I'll be able to support myself, and I want that more than anything else in the world. The folks at disability cause me more stress than all my diagnoses combined.

My other line of thinking is, I'm a talented artist. And it's something I enjoy doing immensely. If I dedicate myself to my craft there's not too much I couldn't do. So there's nothing saying I can't live as an artist. Work in galleries to make extra money, or as a college professor, or a high school teacher, or teaching arts programs in the community, while I have my own artistic practice. That is also something I could see myself doing as a career.