Writer answers questions about mental health and relationship security

• I'm 35, a married mother of three.
• I work full time in a field I'm not sure I'm cut out for, but I've been doing it for 10 years and earn decent money.
• I'm constantly trying to improve myself, but when I consider going back to school (I've completed most of a bachelor's degree), the cost and time commitment always stop me.
• When I look at other jobs, nothing I might qualify for pays enough if I go outside my field (information technology).
• DEAR FAKING LIFE: Satisfaction comes from going after what you want, one step at a time, rather than settling for a situation that keeps you on the edge of a depression.
• You're not a fraud, just unhappy in your work.
• But since work is where you spend huge amounts of your time, your mental health requires that you weigh all your options.
• Talk to your husband about what's possible financially: Perhaps you could manage by taking a part-time job and enrolling in part-time courses toward your degree.
• Also, look into the availability of student loans from the college you seek or a bank.
• Working toward a dream will bring far more energy to you and benefits to your family than feeling buried in the wrong career.
• DEAR ELLIE: My boyfriend of 3-1/2 years recently left me.
• We've been together since high school and will graduate from college in the spring.
• Many of our friends are getting ready to get married; he tells me he is not.
• He claims that things have gotten stale and that he doesn't get "that feeling" around me anymore.
• DEAR LOST: This is about change, which he needs, and not about rejection.
• He wants an opportunity for personal growth and new experiences, while you're still trying to make the past linger on.