This is my letter, written by a college student, to all the people that either didn’t or won’t go to college. Some of you made the choice on your own and others of you had that decision made for you. But whoever you are I’m here to say, I respect you.

All of our lives we are told that we need to go to college, and make something of ourselves, to find ourselves, and to get to the highest point of happiness we can. And for many of us..to keep the mindset of making enough money to take care of our parents someday just like they took care of us. But you don’t need to go to college to achieve that.

To all of my friends that didn’t end up going to college, I want you to know that I’ve never thought lesser of you. Because not everyone is meant to travel the same path. It was my path to go to college, to get my bachelors degree, and to continue on because I learn a lot from sitting in a classroom, listening to lectures, taking tests, and writing papers. But other people don’t like to or simply just can’t learn that way.

Many people can be more successful by going out in to the world and making a living on their own instead of going to college first. And a lot of you will be just as successful or even more successful than a lot of college students. We have this huge crazy world out there that we can make our own if we just try.

I respect you for going out into the world earlier than I did. Because I know it’s scary, and it’s hard, and you’re tired. College is hard and it’s exhausting but I would be lying if I said I’m not scared to graduate, get a job and go out into the world. So yes, I respect you for working your ass off even if you may not know what you want to do with your life yet, or if you do and have to work really hard to where you want to be.

So, please keep going, keep working towards what you want, and know that you’re amazing. You’re going to move mountains, if you just set your mind to it. It may be hard now but respect the process. We all have to be at our low points to make it to the top, to our goals, to our happiness.