Confusion equals Exhaustion

Being back in Missouri has brought forth a plethra of emotions, thoughts, frustrations, and urgues. I finally started painting again, which makes the wheels in my brain set in motion. I am seriously thinking....GRADUATE SCHOOL. I LOVE ART. Missouri equals no art, no support, lots of frustration. I want to get paid to do what I Love, but what is disconcerting is the "direction there" and more importantly where to apply. I have a saying, "go big or go home" which was first inspired by some upperclassmen my freshmen year of college. That saying is what I some what live my life by, I don't want to paint- I want to get paid to paint, I don't want to apply to a shit art school- I want to apply to the best i.e. Yale, Stanford, and my beloved UCLA, I don't want to say "I wish I would have..." some day I want to say, "I did, I conqured my fears and did". What does this mean for me now...got to work, got to work, got to work. I am trying everything to keep my spirits high and figure this out, but it is tough. Everyone goes through this but the real artists strive through.