It sounds like you have an open mind, seems a little rare on an 18 year old these days. Im going to make a suggestion. I have a membership to podcast one and I really like listening to Adam Carolla. He can be over the top crass, so probably not everyones cup of tea.
He also has a podcast called Take a Knee. This podcast he reels in the crass stuff to almost zero, Im even having my 13 year old grand daughter listen.
He interviews people from all walks that have amazing insights on "making it". Even though I'm 59 I really love listening to the stories and glean some very good insights from them. Believe me some of the places these people have come from make your story sound like a cake walk.
I found a link for you. Im pretty sure most of them are here. But because this isn't a premium membership area you will probably have some commercials to forward through and my guess they hold some of them out. I wish I would have had some of the insights these people talk about when I was 18, and the smarts (lol) not to pooh pooh them and do things my way. Funny how stupid the folks telling me what I should and shouldn't do back when I was a kid were, and now when I look back at how smart they actually were. Use experience and wisdom to learn, not push back on. Why remake the wheel when people have been there done that?
By the way don't discount a single one just because you read the blurb and don't think it applies to you. They all apply, one of my favorites was from the woman that started Hungry Girl ... I had never hear of her or Hungry Girl, but when her an Adam get to talking its really very interesting stuff. Listen to all from beginning to end, sometimes it takes a bit to ramp up.
http://www.podcastone.com/podcast?categoryID2=335