Having gone to school for animation, completed the program, and looked around for animation jobs here in the U.S., I can tell you there is such a world of difference between working in a room full of other creative people to talk to and worth with, versus sitting in your room at home alone plugging away at your own personal animation projects.
From the class of 30+ animation students that I personally worked with, the ones who were always working on their own projects outside of school were the ones who have all gotten jobs (as far as I'm aware). Aside from those people, there were maybe two people who were just really talented at what they could do and who got jobs based on that. Everyone else mostly seems to have been working in fields unrelated to animation, though I can't say whether that was their choice or if they just couldn't find the job they wanted.
The animation industry is viciously competitive and small. It's incredibly difficult to break into, and you pretty much have to be in California (if you stay within the U.S.) to make it anywhere. You have to be ready and able to fight for that job. You have to do the work and spend the time on it. Because no matter how much you love animation, there are thousands more animators looking for jobs at the same time you are who will be making that extra effort to work on their own projects at home.
It's probably true that if you are able to teach yourself animation and work at it on your own, you don't really need to go to school for it. Most companies will focus on your work instead of your resume. I know I learned a ton at my school though that would have taken me at least twice as long to learn on my own, and the most important thing about going to school for animation is meeting and making connections with people who might end up in the industry with you someday. That part is probably more important than the technical knowledge you'll learn, honestly. Animation school should also teach you how to best display your work, because even if your work is good, an annoying or disorganized demo reel can get you thrown in the "discard" pile.
As for myself... I absolutely love animation. I've known I wanted to do it for as long as I can remember. I've never had more fun at school than when I was in my animation classes. My classmates were incredibly inspiring, and I would often be one of the few people in class who would stay at school for 12+ hours straight working because I just couldn't get enough of it. Ideas and creativity were so thick in the air that you couldn't help feeling inspired.
But then I graduated, had to move away from that environment and the people who inspired me, and found myself completely drained of inspiration. It's been two years since I graduated and I've hardly touched my animation software since. And, unfortunately, that has left me in the group of people who has ended up not doing what they wanted to do. My animation degree doesn't qualify me to do much else, and sometimes I wish I had studied something more widely useful. Everything I've previously said is true, and I know it, but I have trouble following my own advice sometimes. It's been a major struggle for me, I wouldn't wish it on anyone else, but I'm still working on getting better so that maybe someday I will have the job I always dreamed I would have.
So I guess what I'm saying is, give some serious thought to what you want to do and how you're going to go about doing it. If you aren't willing or capable of putting in the necessary effort, you might be better off doing something else and keeping animation as a hobby. If you want to work on your own projects at home, make or find a space for yourself that inspires you. Set goals or schedules or deadlines for yourself. Talk to other creative people and bounce ideas off others. And draw, a lot. Every day.
I've never seen your animations, so I have no idea what kind of potential you have as an animator, but it's not an easy road even for the best of us. Even once you get that animation job you always dreamed about, animating is a largely under-appreciated and underpaid field for the kind of hours people tend to put into it. Animation jobs are rarely constant and dependable since most people work on temporary contracts. It might mean moving around a lot and putting stress on the relationships you have with other people.
If you're ready for that, and if you want to do that, then go for it. I wish you the best of luck. Just be prepared for whatever may happen - be it the best case scenario or the worst.