You can do bad by yourself.

I've made a few unlikely friends that during this last year challenged me deeply to embrace God's love for me and to see myself the way he does. The ones I'm talking about always show up when I start to go back to old thinking and challenge me all over again. I really love them for that!

My dad told me "never worry about your education being practical."

this is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: "Only in returnign to me and resting in me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength. (But you would have none of it). - Isaiah 30:15
A great verse shared with me at the beginning of my Sabbatical - after near burn out. Take time to be quiet and contemplate.

In a challenging time of my life, I was making big decisions to give up life-long vices with the help of friends and mentors. In the thick of it, I remember complaining to a mentor about how hard it was and how I just needed love. And she said, "You wouldn't know love if it hit you between the eyes. This IS God's love, that He is saving you from destructive behavior." Stunned, I shut my mouth because I recognized the truth in her words. Those words made such an impact that it has stuck with me since.