camlobe ... You were lucky to have such a fixed vocation.
Mine, from the age of 12 (IIRC) was to be "an Hoooficer in the RAF". After several juvenile years pin-balling from pillar to post, wasting time and failing things and really getting nowhere, suddenly I were one. The actual career path wasn't as focussed as yours, it was somewhat more broad-brush. And the numerous rejections and failures are a short book on their own.
However, eventually it all fell into place. All my past was simply history. I was where I had always wanted to be (OK, not a pilot, but other humans also exist) ... and I eventually had a very happy and successful career.