I've been intellectually awake for about three years now. It's taken me time but I've figured out an exit strategy to leave the JW's as frictionless as possible. It's impossible to leave with my dignity in tact but, leaving will be worth it. It won't be easy, but I can do it. Here goes:
I'm going back to school!
I'm going back for a bachelor's degree. I will start at the local community college for an associate of arts degree, which transfers to a 4 year university for a bachelor's. The community college has a more flexible schedule, offering evening and some online classes.
Going back to school as a non-JW will allow me to do some of the things I never had the chance to do in high school. Like making friends with non-jw's and dating classmates. I've thought about dating a "liberal-minded" JW and trying to turn her later on in the relationshp (perhaps after marriage), but it's risky.
Going back to school will hit several birds with one stone. Finding friends outside the organization, finding a girl with an open mind, edudcation for a career (which I never got as a JW), and maybe getting me dfed for a "sin" less hardore than apostasy. My family will eventually get over it, I know this for a fact ;-).
It can take me up to 8 years to fininsh my degree, but I still have most of my life ahead of me, and it's damn well worth it.