Hi! I went through stuff that sounds awfully similar. I "dropped out" in a very similar way. I had similarly difficult dealings with relatives, etc. I have

Hi! I went through stuff that sounds awfully similar. I "dropped out" in a very similar way. I had similarly difficult dealings with relatives, etc. I have roughly 20 years on you so on the one hand, my advice might not apply because I'm so old and on the other hand my advice might be really important because I have 20 years more experience. So take it as you will; this is the kind of thing I wish someone had said to me 20 years ago: Forget other people's opinions, first. Sorta. Your close relatives are in one of two states, roughly speaking. Either they are superstitious and just feel obligated to keep saying "get a degree!" or else they are sensitive to you and maybe know you better than you know yourself and are saying "We can tell you'll regret not finishing, so finish." Maybe they're right, maybe they're wrong - but whatever the case, it's not helping right now (per your report). Gently but firmly set aside their pressure. You are your own person right now and this is your first big "test", so to speak. This is your painful process of emancipation. Next, you have grand ideas about starting a company. I'll assume that you are pretty darn smart and your ideas are very good. I'll assume a company of the sort you imagine would win big. That said: Give up on it. It's not going to happen. Things are harder than you imagine and, anyway, even the best idea takes a lot of luck. The odds with the bookmaker are that you are going to lose hard on that path. Sure, keep a high self-opinion about your intellect but, basically, stop being so (self-defeatingly) arrogant, you ignorant twit. (Sorry, I got carried away talking to my younger self there. You are perhaps not an ignorant, arrogant twit of the sort I was but rather someone who just comes across that way. :-) Your priorities, from my armchair, are food, shelter, health care, social life, and room to work on what moves you. Are you good for paying rent indefinitely? Not skipping any meals? Getting your check-ups? Going out and having fun? Some time to spare to work on things like your start-up ideas? Fantastic. If not... get there. Get a job. Get a cheap but livable place to live. Etc. Stabilize your situation. Stop relying on friend and family for money. Get the fundamentals down. Learn how to field grounders, to to speak (a baseball analogy). Next, your 19 credits away? What the hell is the matter with you? OF COURSE you want the degree. The past is the past and those are "sunk costs" but from where you are now, a degree is cheap. So, by all means, quit being a full time student and get a job - any job that will fit, don't get cocky. Wait tables if that will fit. Do the paperwork/bureaucracy dance with your school and convert to being a part time student. Complete your degree mostly "at leisure", within the next 2-4 years. You'll feel good about it at the end and yes, it really is worth something "on the market" (for a job or for investment capital). Most importantly: you will lose the opportunity for the sheepskin (degree) if you walk away from it at this stage. If you take a 10 year break, those remaining credits will become much, much more expensive. So don't do that. Stabilize yourself as an independent economic actor. Take your time, not external pressure, to drive your business ideas. And finish your damn degree.