My own dilemma... (sob story alert!)

Okay.  I have several issues with our current standing educational system.  I'll try to keep this simple and straightforward.  Understand that these are my own thoughts and musings based on my experiences.  I realize that every single one of you reading this has different experiences and, therefore, differing opinions.  I welcome feedback of all sorts, even contradictory to my thoughts, because I am continuously seeking more knowledge, understanding, and information.

So, I am (admittedly) one of those people that has a tendency to think I am better than everyone else.  ;)  No, really.  The problem is that I was always considered one of the smart ones.  This is a major problem because, since things always came relatively easy to me, I didn't bother to put in much work.
After all, why bust my hiney for an A on an assignment, when I find out that others in my class were writing papers four to five years behind me and getting high Bs or even low As!?  Once I learned what "the curve" was...well.  It served no purpose to work so hard when I was still going to get an A.  That was more than 10 years ago.  Notice, I am still an undergraduate.  A very close friend put it gently when he said I was the dumbest smart person he'd ever met.

I am over-qualified for most entry level jobs; even middle management jobs.  I have opened and operated my own successful business for almost ten years.  I studied and handled all the legal, financial, tax, inventory, sales, marketing, web site development, etc.  Everything.  And I can't get a job.  Most jobs require a bachelor's degree.  Hmmm...my decade plus of experience won't get me a job because I don't have that degree...  I am not a happy camper.

Here's the problem I have with our current system: (c'mon, we've all heard this before) do not confuse education with intelligence.  I am not saying that education doesn't pay or that it isn't worth it.  By no means!  I am a huge supporter and fan of education.  What I am NOT a fan of is having doors of opportunity bolted shut in front of me because of a piece of paper.  I know, I know...we've all heard this before, too, right?  True.  I understand when there are hundreds of thousands of prospective employees, the employers need to do what they can to stem the tide of applications.  There needs to be some way for them to weed through all the applicants and the simplest way to do that is to establish minimum requirements.  That goes without saying.  I know how the game works.  I know how the system is set up.  I understand it completely.  I would do the same thing if I were handling applications for huge corporations.  I didn't play the game correctly.  Now I am on the wrong side of the fence, so to speak.  Well.  Sort of.

I love learning.  I am absolutely loving being back in school.  And, quite frankly, I appreciate it a heck of a lot more than I did right out of high school.  I am super thankful for the opportunity to be back.  Coming back into the fold after more than a decade out has made it so much easier to learn.  I now have a much better understanding of how to learn.  It is so much more enjoyable to be in school when I'm not so worried about memorizing things, but am more focused on the process of learning itself.