This takes me back to Bret Victor's talk Inventing on Principle.

There are many ways to live your life. That's maybe the most important thing to realize in life, that every aspect of your life is a choice. But there are default choices. You can choose to sleepwalk through your life and accept the path that's been laid out for you. You can choose to accept the world as it is. But you don't have to. If there's something in the world you feel is a wrong and you have a vision for what a better world could be, you can find your guiding principle and you can fight for a cause.

I'm not saying you have to live your life this way. I'm not saying you should. I'm saying it's an option.

You said: I almost feel embarassed that it took me to the point where I had everything in my own life put together before I could really take the time to think seriously about what I could do to help those around me. Those words will haunt me for a long time.

Congrats on finding and taking the option. Best wishes in all respects, sir. I will be interested to hear if and how tech comes into play, or if it's a complete change of course in the end.