REJECTED?

Yep, I got my first college letter today, and sadly, it was a rejection. Yes, it sucks, but surprisingly, I'm not nearly as bummed as I thought I would be. The past few months of my life have really opened my eyes to so much. I realized that life is only so long, and there is so much that I want to do with my life.
A few years ago, I thought that the only option to anything after high school was college; but that's not even close to true, that's just society's expectation of everyone.
Yes, I think that everyone should go to college, but, for some, college isn't in the plan for them, and to be honest, lately. I'm debating that maybe I'm one of those people that it's not made for. I don't know if I'm supposed to go to college. I'm such a free spirit, and right now school is so much of a hassle, I don't know how truly committed I could be. The only thing that's on my mind: living my life, one day at a time, and not regretting anything. I want to live out my dreams, and not listen to society. I don't want to be a 'rebel,' but I want to live my life, the way I see fit, not the way my peers see fit.
College is a great idea, but I just don't know if it's for me anymore. I think if it were, I should have been pushed to tears when I read those words, "we reject to inform you..." but I wasn't. I read it, and set it on the table, and went and made a sandwich. Should that be how someone reacts when they just found out that they didn't get into their top college choice? Ha, I don't think so.
But to me, that's not that big of a deal. I've got the bug; the travel bug. I want to spend my life working for a few years to save money, and then take the next few years after that, to travel the world. I want to meet people from every culture, I want to touch the lives of millions of people, if only for a moment. I want to make a change in the world, & I really don't see how I can do that sitting in a classroom for 4-5 more years of my life. I'm more of a hands on learner, so those long, boring lectures that I hear about all the time, don't really do much for me. I think that I could do so much more if I'm actually out there interacting with people, taking sufficient time to learn about them and their cultures; what they love about life, and what they wish they could change. I want to spend my time touring this world while I still have the chance. There are so many people that tell me that they always wanted to travel, but they never got the chance, so when I tell them that in 2 years, that's what I want to be doing, they tell me one thing, and they all tell me the exact same thing: DO IT.
They all tell me that if I don't do it while I'm this young, life will happen &the opportunity won't ever roll around again, and that choice I will forever regret, and the more I think about it, the more and more I believe them. I want to travel to every country. I want to meet people that I can teach, and people that can teach me, I want to meet people who will make me fall in love, who will cause heart break, who will show me the true meaning of life. I want to live overseas for a portion of my life, but I have no idea where: Traveling could help me decide where I want to live.
I was raised, not knowing really that there were any other options than going to college. But now, as I grow up, I see that there is so much more to life. Yes, I still want to further my education, but I don't want the same kind of education that some peers want. I want to see the world. I want to photograph the world as I see it. I want to write about the world as I see it. I want to show the world, about everything else that's out there. I want to run marathons, I want to publish books, I want to hold art exhibits with nothing but my finest work. I have so many hopes and dreams for my life, but lately, I've been doubting that college in in those dreams. I want people to change my life, show me different ways of looking at things, show me so much more than I could ever imagine. I just think there is so much potential in this world, but so few people actually get to experience any of it, and I refuse to die as one of those people. I'm going to be someone who sees the world.I have to, that's the only thing I want to do, is travel. It's just a matter of making it happen. But honestly, that's not really the problem. I just see so many things that I want to do, I don't know how I'm going to get it all done in this short thing we all call life...

&Just think... This all came, from a college letter of rejection.