As a student halfway through my senior year, I’ve been through the college application process. I’ve made the infamous Common App account, filled out what seems like 1,000 applications, submitted my FAFSA, sent my SAT scores and finally I’m done.

But really, I’m not.

Now I have to choose a college to enroll at and still figure out how to pay for it all. For some people, this is just too much.

High school is hard enough for a number of students, it was hard for me. Getting up every single day to sit in hard metal chairs for six hours, and learn about topics you don’t have an interest in can get anyone down. It’s not the way a school day should be conducted. My outlook, though, is that college is the next chapter. I can finally learn about topics I have a passion for, and work to set up a life I’m proud of.

Yet, some people don’t need a college degree to pursue their passions.

People who go to technical schools like the Lower and Upper Cape Techs, go for a reason. They want to be trained early on in a field that can be extremely lucrative for them. After four years of learning how to work on cars, boats and even hair, most students don’t need a college education. They’ve worked hard to immediately have the upper hand in their field, and they’re completely prepared for the future.

Of course, people who go to technical schools can still move on to obtain a college education, but usually it’s just not necessary.

Some kids choose to go immediately into the military after college because of the Montgomery GI Bill. The bill is designed to help pay for the college education of the people who enlist. Depending on how long you serve and the job you choose, you can receive more than $50,000 to pay for college.  While not everyone is the perfect fit for the military, I can’t think of a better way to pay for your education and make an impact in your country at the same time. Just because you don’t go to college immediately after high school doesn’t mean you’re less intelligent or driven as your peers, it just means you’re able to pursue other passions first.

In a lot of cases, though, people just can’t see themselves in a college setting.

Four more years of school is enough to make anyone nervous, and after you add the cost and inevitable debt, it’s easy to just not go down that path.

We too often look down upon people who choose to not further their education because of other interests or goals. It doesn’t make them less intelligent, driven or passionate. It makes them human, and not everyone’s nature pushes them to keep going through schooling.

In my opinion, that’s admirable. While I do think going to college is a sure-fire way of obtaining a good job, if someone knows it’s not for them, there’s no use in fighting it.

People ultimately need to do what makes themselves happy, and if college isn’t going to do that, why take on the stress and financial burden? There’s no right or wrong way in how to live your life or chase your dreams. It all comes down to how hard you work to get there, and college doesn’t have to be the road you take.