It takes a lot of courage to write something like this. Lindsay, if you're reading this, I tip my hat off to you for sitting down and delving deep into some of these challenges. Only when we make ourselves truly vulnerable do we grow and I hope both the actual act of writing this piece and the subsequent commentary you get makes you a better human being.

As a "traditionally educated" person who went to a public school and an ivy, university is very much optimized for people who can be programmed easily. And I don't mean that in a nefarious / brainwashy type of way. School is a game with rules and objectives. Follow the rules, modestly achieve the objectives, and you're validated with a degree. This validation is sanctioned by society and in some places (law, medicine), mandated by law.

Go off path? Deviate and carve your own path? Refuse to go on a path? You're off reservation and labelled a "dropout." You're not in the box everyone is used to conceptualizing you in. They don't understand you which leads to one of two reactions: 1) they fear you or 2) they dismiss you as a non-threat.