For me, Jess, I think I know where you are coming from (and so many others that have posted as well).
I know that when I went into college, I was planning on studying archaeology with plans to go into egyptology. There were a number of exciting discoveries made in the previous few years that I wanted to get in on, but the college that I was able to go to and could afford didn't really offer specialized courses in egyptology, but nevertheless I think I made a good choice. Anthropology was completely fascinating to me and the fact that I really knew how to observe people (from a lifetime of intellectual boredom I suppose) grabbed a hold of me. For three years of my five years in college I focused on anthropology and psychology courses, dipping now and then into archaeology. But what really interested me about archaeology I discovered was more studied in anthropology, namely politicial and religious anthropology. I still have no idea how to apply this particular information in the real world, though I thought I might be well suited for a counterintelligence role... but I have a somewhat unique understanding of the flow of power, through both symbolic interactions and political intrigue.
But what saddened me was that during my pursuit, my parents insisted several times that I change my major to business or something more applicable (mathematics, computer science - ick!) and could ensure a job for me in the "real world" as they called it. That certainly got me to thinking about how I could apply anthropology in the real world.... something that I could really have a passion for. I was completely immersed in celtic culture at the time, and did in depth-historical research into Ireland's cultures and cultural conflicts. I really began to understand how unique and important the Irish culture and people were for the entire planet, and how much they had suffered to keep their traditional cultural values intact. (Seriously, the death penalty for wearing green and gold). One of our anthropology/sociology courses studied cultural conflict, and I wrote a thesis for that class specifically detailing how cultural preservation programs and historical tourism could actually benefit among other things cultural education. So I thought about that for a very long time and decided to pursue an Interdisciplinary Degree which could combine anthropology, communications, history and marketing techniques in a specific way... namely through historical tourism. So I changed my major to the Interdisciplinary Studies and my parents were happier. I was accepted into an internship in a company that worked exclusively with historical/cultural tourism and I couldn't wait until I graduated. I was very excited (pumped, I believe is the vernacular.) and for the very first time it really felt like my life was heading in the right direction. I was planning to graduate in the summer of 2002.
Those plans of course were decimated by the events of September 11, 2001 and the resulting economic crash. The business that I had gotten the internship with went down, and tourism (which had been before then one of the fastest growing markets) seemed to completely drop from the global economic view. In fact, every other business and school in the area that pursued or taught skills specifically devoted to external tourism closed. I had never been so devastated in my life, and found myself in a lot of debt because the company (that had offered to pay for my tuition) had completely collapsed and could not afford even that small luxury. I couldn't afford to keep going to school, and as I was in my fifth year already, managed to piece together a degree in Anthropology with a minor in psychology. (There are a number of advanced degree programs that one can pursue with a minor in psychology). So now I had a college degree, but with no idea of where to go from here...
I certainly didn't give up on the idea that I could find something that would enthrall me that I could live with. I continued to dream and to strive towards them in whatever ways I could. And that led me into my next career, my pursuit of an online program which would give me some wonderful new skills that I could use to help people, and which I found I could quite easily mesh together with my anthropological and psychological observation and application skills. The core of the matter is profoundly human, and all humans face imbalance in their lives. The holistic life coach can examine this imbalance and help lead people to a greater understanding of themselves, and whether or not they should "stand it" or "fix it".
Actually, to a great extent, holistic life coaching always assumes that a situation is fixable. Even if only a few small changes can be made. But if you want success stories of people who have gotten places after thinking for years that they couldn't, we have only to examine the case files of the holistic life coaches that I studied under. The main thing is to keep active. NEVER give in to a situation that you can't stand and simply allow it to roll you into the mud. Make a plan of action. If you don't know what to do, find someone that does. I know some clients who didn't even know who to ask, and I advised them to do online searches, go to reading groups, or even ask complete strangers. The human question "Can you help me?" can engage anyone, and sometimes just engaging in a conversation with a stranger can shed enlightenment on the most mysterious or depressing of circumstances. (This happens with business coaching a great deal, also. Entrepreneurs that have no idea how to do something, but know that they want to do it can find advice from someone.)