I'm a teenager too, and I would love to be "free" like you describe, but what could I do with my freedom? None of my friends equally yearn to attain such freedom, or if they do, they don't let on that they do, possibly due to societal pressure. Society feels like it's structured like a series of obstacles preventing me from doing whatever I want, and I feel like I'd be alone, like Clarisse McClellan taking a walk by herself. I don't see the Internet as freedom, but I don't see other options available.

Then there's also the issue of short-term gains. Isn't getting into the best college I can the best way for me to have a successful life? Do I want to have the most fun in my life as a teenager? I know that you think that being successful later in life and having fun as a teenager aren't mutually exclusive, but perhaps your case is an exception?

But then, I guess the definition of success is dependent on the mindset of the successful individual. Happiness is a mindset, as they say, not something to be achieved. But to me, success is the achievement of the goals you've set, and for me to achieve my goals, I need to get into a really good college (I think), or else I will have denied myself opportunities to go down the road I want to take, working for a (and founding my own) startup, or an equally exciting tech company.

Indeed, one of my goals is to be financially independent enough to do whatever I'd like. I wish there was a way for me to be able to do whatever I'd like right now without disrupting the path to achieving my goals, but there just isn't. It sucks, but that's reality as I see it.