Saturday morning cartoons: DragonBall Z, Gundam Wing Endless Waltz. Friend then introduced me to Pokémon. But I just watched these casually.
A few years later, high school friends got me to watch Cowboy Bebop, Trigun, Ranma 1/2, Great Teacher Onizuka, Azumanga Daioh, Love Hina, and several Studio Ghibli movies. I'm sure there are more that I'm forgetting, but high school was when it started for me. Action, drama, comedy, romance, slice of life, everything.
GTO is still one of my all time favorites. I've rewatched it a few times, read the manga, and watched the live action remakes. This class is known for getting teachers to quit, but Onizuka sensei is a former gang member that has a totally different perspective on life. Because of his background, he has a very different approach to teaching and relating to his students.
There have been a lot of good anime with great stories, animation, comedy, etc. GTO isn't the best anime ever, but I connected with it on a deeper level, so it holds a special place.
Yeah, don't bind yourself to a formal university education in which you have to fulfill requirements and place undue stress on yourself.
Keep your job, and take whatever classes that interest you.
If you're in the US: I've enjoyed community college classes more than D1 university classes because the professors have different goals. At community colleges the professors enjoy teaching. At D1 universities many professors are doing research and are required to teach on the side.
There’s gotta be, it’s too epic not to be filmed for a documentary!