[Nyororin]

Actually, I wasn`t judging you based on your age - I was using it as a start point for calculations. If you`re 15, you`re clearly not close to finishing a degree, etc. Note, I never said you were "just 15". I said "You`re 15." - which I assume is correct?

I understand the whole going to Japan dream, etc - I mean, I planned and managed to get over here just after turning 17. I have no doubt that I started thinking and planning at 15. It`s not the dream of going to Japan that I wanted you to give more thought to - it was the time line you put out. Getting multiple degrees is not something that will happen over night. That is going to take a lot more work, planning, and money than a trip to Japan. That is the bit you should be working toward at this point.

As for family problems - my mother threw her life away too, which contributed to my desire to get away from it all. But just leaving doesn`t necessarily change things. I have a bunch posted in my "I live in Japan" topic.

Anyway, you just need to have order to your plans, and take things one step at a time. If there are a bunch of things that need to be done *before* moving on to something else, it is pointless to plan for something 10 steps down the road. The bigger the final dream gets, the more and more frustrating the in-between steps feel. That ultimately contributes to people giving up.

You say you know how the world works. I did too at 15. But that doesn`t mean experience means nothing. Experience builds upon and expands the base. Just knowing how the world works doesn`t mean you know what to do in *response* to that.
Just knowing how and why rain falls doesn`t mean you`re going to know it`s better to use an umbrella and not get wet. That`s where experience comes into play.

Just take things one step at a time. Experience comes naturally, and you`ll go through it whether you like it or not.