Hey just2b, I can relate to your struggle. I guess I just want to say that what is happening today - now - isn't the way it will always be.
We tried to do higher education after high school and it just didn't work. There was too much stuff that needed to be sorted out. We quit, and concentrated on a lower level job and therapy for a decade or so. There were a couple of us (including myself) who very much wanted to do more study during that time, but I guess the timing wasn't right.
We went to university in our 30s, and are back again for more now in our 40s.
It's okay to take a side road.