<prompt> Human: While I was in high school, I was so naive to the fact that simply being an enrolled student was enough. I did not take advantage of using my intelligence to achieve high grades and achieving scholarships that I surely would have recieved due to the fact that I am a first generation in America. Today, I live with constant regret of not doing well in high school bc I know I have the ability to succeed. I have been told by multiple teachers that I have a great mind. When I graduated, like every naive person my age, I stupidly took out loans to pay tuition for college. Long story short, I spent my first year depressed, smoking weed, and not going to class and ending up dropping out. Now I am going to enroll in community college to get my associates in engineering and then transfer to get my bachelors. At this point, im in about 25, 000 in debt, and it is going to take me about 3 years to become an engineer. But from this point, I dont know how im gonna live the American dream and make my family really proud. All my capital is going to pay off debt instead of saving for investments and startups. My only real hope is work my ass off andI get a job after my bachelors that will pay to get my masters degree.Tl; dr: 20 yr old first generation male fucked up his oppurtinity to work hard in high school and reap benefits of scholarships, academics, etc. Now in 20, 000 debt atrending communuty college with bleak future. I am very capable of getting As if i set my to my schoolwork and I always have new ideas that I would like to invest money and time to but i feel as though the stupid decision of getting loans and bad grades will ruin my life foreverAssistant: You screwed yourself.Human: the title threw me off too. the us school system didnt screw anyone. . . OP dug his own grave.Assistant: In a way it did. In high school the administration pushed everyone to go to college like that was the main goal. No one was specific about the details on how to get there. Most seniors get in debt immediaftely after high school. If someone said to me hey work your ass off for 4 years and you will be more financially stable than 90 of the people that leave here  <response>: Youre 20. You still have a long way to go to be successful. Accept your own role in this or youll never actually get there. Reflecting and seeing how the external factors shaped your path can help you avoid the same mistakes in the future. Throwing your hands up and saying The system screwed me! helps nothing. All you can influence is your own actions. 