Ok, so here are my thoughts....
I've always believed that college degrees are nothing more than a waste of time and money, especially for smart creative people. Yes, granted if you want to be a doctor/lawyer or have specific profession that requires training/skills/school, a degree is a must. Where else would you learn that trade? Now, there's a lot of things one can do AND should do without a degree.... 90% of people don't even use their degree in their current job. All our friends are like "got a world history + internation relatiotions degree and working at a bike shop as a amanger" LOL
So... I also understand why your mom ( my mom, every mom I've known) would think you're crazy and insist that you get a degree. They grew up in Russia. There you WERE nobody if you didn't graduate college, you ARE nobody and you WILL be nobody without a degree, and it is very hard for them to accept the fact that our wonderful " country of opportunities" wasn't named that after nothing. That brings me to this: You are one of the smartest, wisest, people I've ever met;, you have great common sense, you're easy going, pleasant to be around , you pick things up super fast, you're a fast learner and from what I can see you're pretty much great at anything you take on ( be it motherhood or photography or anythin- remember just under a year ago, you were here sans Digital rebel thinking how great this camera is... and just mere 6 months later you take pictures like no pro would). Don't get yourself into this kind of debt JUST to get a degree. most people pay their student loans years and years after they've graduated, most of them while working in a completely unrelated industry. Expect your mom NOT to understand!
Also, if you DO decide to go to college anyways, PICK something you're going to LOVE studying and doing. because what's most important is the time spent there, and afterwards, if it even matter, all employers care about is "A DEGREE"....any degree, you know... Most job ads say "bachelor's degree OR 2 years of equivalent experience".
Now, another question arises: what kind of jobs can you get as a photographer? I don't think the pool is that big...so you gotta think about that, you DO have a daughter to support. Or are you definitely going to work for yourself and try and develop solid clientele? Can you make enough money with that. those are all questions you need to ask yourself. In the end, what's important is to make enought money to live well, and you can always do photography on the side... So there's really lots of things to think about. i personally would hate loaning myself up to my neck for a degree I'm most likely not going to need. if you do decide you want a job as a photographer, then i don't think you need to go to school... take a few classes you consider important and then your porfolio is going to speak for itself when it comes to employers or clients
I also have a friend who has a photography degree and now he does hair LOL :)

OH SWEETIE!
You know I was waiting for your opinion in this- I checked back and forth between this site and Photoshop LOL... like every minute! :))) So yeah, I do see your point and I am not going to work for anybody I want to work for myself and it WILL take a lot of time and to make good money I do have to be THE BEST! What I need is a business plan, but before I'll do that- you know just how much shit I have to deal with! So until then it is solid- I ain't signing any papers for that long. I'll be going to school next semester and taking general classes, to be getting some credit I guess, I also can get some photography classes during that time. And when I get done with personal things, I can pursue y photography business even further, by then I am sure I'll have portfolio build up.. :)))
Thanks again, you know how much I appreciate your kind words and support and advice! :)

HAHAHA! i was doing the same thing...sitting my bed, editing pictures, switching from li.ru to photoshop to lightroom to see whether you answered yet :) LOLWell, if that's definitely you're GOING to do and what you wanna do and you know it'll earn you good money, then you should screw a degree and just pick and choose which fun and interesting classes to take and GO!
BTW, when i was looking into stuff like that they had this awesome program where your photography class is where you go to Scotland with your group and a teacher and learn there for alike a week or two taking pictures.... AWWWW!

in graphic design - web design is where the money are. its nice to have those skills as an option. and again, what matters most is your portfolio, not grades or school you went to. if your passion is photography then you should go for it. i have a BA in econimics and International affairs. I worked in a research firm after graduating for 3 years and was hating it. now I am going to study languages (yes, I know I was thinking of design at first too)) but I alway had that passion of talking to people whose culture comes far away from mine, so to me, to be able to communicate better in a different language, is what I always wanted. so I am going for it now. :)

Elena_Ollick, OW, sounds like something I would love to do! ;)

Esther, You go girl!!! Which languages will you study?

french and spansih.

Love_Cyber_Cat, I bet!