Hey Bobster, welcome! I think you'll find a lot of similarities among the people here on SR. I know I have! Before my alcoholism got really serious I was very ambitious, and I would strive for my goals. Then I got a DUI on my very LAST day of nursing school and all that went out the window... except for the drinking. The next 6 years I found myself regressing in my career (I started out in an awesome position straight out of nursing school). I even dropped out of paramedic school because I found I'd rather drink than study or do homework. It was very humiliating for me. An ER nurse dropping out of paramedic school?
Anyway, I have been struggling lately because I'm not where I saw myself career-wise at all. A lot of it has to do with my alcoholism. But the good news is that we have an opportunity to pick up the pieces and get back on our feet! I suppose we could wallow in the fact that we screwed up and we'd be a lot further along had we not sacrificed so much to alcohol, but that would be counterproductive.
Also, we still have our experience which will make us stronger. You may feel that what you're doing right now is menial and what you could have been doing would have been better, but what experiences are you gaining that can help you in the future? For me, I know I may not have a masters degree in nursing today, but I still learned a ton from what I have been doing. I've also learned a lot about myself. Maybe it just wasn't time for us to have that big fancy job.
