Fish out of water

Can I just tell you, education can be like car shopping? Al and I spent an entire YEAR car shopping, we went to dealerships and test drove practically all the vehicles out there! We researched online, we found things we didn't like about each car we drove and though they were things I could have settled for, Al is particular when spending his money. We had a vehicle we liked, and none on the market compared to it! Al was quick to tell me that each and every time we test drove a car. Except for the things about my car that I could not live with, hence the need for car shopping! So, education, I have been on a path to nursing school for the past 4 years, and just like a light switch, my direction has changed. I will maintain the end goal is still the same, however, my path is unsettled and I am finding myself researching and testing all of my options and there are TOO Many!!!!! Same as car shopping, you want an SUV for instance, you have what feels like hundreds of choices! Education is very much the same, I have a list of "acceptable" programs I could choose but how do you choose the one that's best? I have been online allll morning looking at all of my options and there is no real direction. It's personalized. Personalized is a fabulous option, but everyone is so different, it's hard to find out what works for ME. I need clarity. A defined path that I can walk and I will be much more settled! I think I am a little hesitant because here I was on a path to nursing and then like the wind changes direction, there's me, feeling like I am starting at square one. Yes, many of the courses I took to pursue nursing will be useful for Lactation Specialist certification, so all was not lost. I guess I just needed to vent my overwhelmed state.

How do you work through your overwhelmed confusion?

For me, I get out paper and start feverishly taking notes and making lists! I print internet pages and I keep them all nestled away in a manila folder. It's sort of an organized chaos! But it works for me. When I am feeling OCD, I get out the highlighter and highlight the notes that apply to me in the pages I have read over and over and over and over! :)
So, here I am, surrounded by papers, and notes, trying to plot my direction.

I will say I am closer to a plan NOW than I was a few weeks ago, but I am still not 100% set on which path to take. I guess the good news is, there IS a path, it's just a matter of figuring out which one I want to commit to :) Decisions! Decisions!!