"Better die and spawn a ghost, than die and leave nothing." What's the point of a ghost? How does this make your situation "better"? Your point is based on the assumption that death is inherently "bad".
Creating that web of connections online and offline is highly valuable to a company. The more loyalty you have the better. The online world should help reinforce offline relationships. The internet is, after all, a tool.
Immigration laws are ridiculous. If they can create a successful business that can give jobs to many, why would you not support that? I think the government really needs an overhaul on how they think of small business and entrepreneurs. They are what keep this country afloat. You simply can not create a mega-corporation that employs hundreds if not thousands out of thin air. It starts as a small business (or, more commonly for us here, a startup).
The big problem, I think, is that they know this and it's precisely why it's happening. Lobbying by mega-corps is very detrimental to our economy. Which in turn effects social issues. Thus an all encompassing negative outcome.
Make better software. Hackers are what drive innovation. I for one support this mans use of "supercookies". Law is not the answer for everything. We can fix things through advancement of technology not additional (pointless) legislature.
Therapy? What about a close friend? Relative? Hell, even just pausing a moment to self reflect is better than therapy. Use community before you seek "professionals".
Welcome to the club (read: life). How do you mature? Learn to spot these issues before they happen. Learn to change when you need to change, not when you have to change. Look inside. Reflect on the things you do. You know you the best-- you can analyze you the best. I guarantee you will be amazed at how much you can learn by just sitting quietly on the floor for 30 minutes doing nothing. Eyes closed. More commonly understood as meditation.
I would bet you have more of a handle on things than many. Understand that you are young and nothing, I repeat, nothing can substitute for experience. And when you make sure to learn from every experience you have by utilizing self reflection, well, you will understand life and it's bliss.
If anyone tells you life and the journey it provides is easy, they are lying. If anyone tells you it sucks, they are lying.
I'd add that it's important to know when you need to break out into internal APIs. It means nothing to do it just because you want to and think you'll get more out of it. Measure the benefit. There are many refactoring techniques to kill app bottlenecks well before it's time to create an internal API.
I also dropped out and I have quite a different experience. My experience with CS in school was that it was boring. The teachers did not teach it well and I was better off learning on my own. I think this is highly dependent on your own personal learning style. College is not for everyone.
If you're smart, you have support. I don't know what people were around you but generally the right people can tell if you'll make it in this world. Their support means a lot. Find those people to surround yourself with.
I think being a dropout is easier now than ever. There is a large collective who understand college is not what it use to be. You can definitely do well without it, and they know.
"Computer Science is now an established discipline and schools actually teach it, so being self-taught is less of a necessity and more of an oddity." I disagree. Computer Science is established for Computer Science. It gives you almost zero introduction into the industry. If you want to be a software engineer for a living then it's the experience of work and your personal drive that outweighs a degree.
This industry has gotten to a point where we realize skill outweighs paper trails. If you can prove that you can do the work and do it well, you will get hired. I rather hire and work with someone who does not have a CS degree and knows what they are doing versus the opposite. It's the only way to hire -- skill.
I think if you use a recruiter to help find new people to put through your interview process then they can be highly effective. It doesn't make sense to trust in a recruiter to bring you the perfect fit. They bring you people and then you must determine if they are the proper fit. I see no harm in recruiters. You don't have to hire anyone they bring you.