Hey, is this thing on?

So lately I've been thinking a bunch about what I want to do when I grow up. I like to solve puzzles and be creative. I really need to have open-ended work where no one tells me how to get it done.
(I don't question authority - authority just doesn't really occur to me.)
Oh yeah, and I'd like some time around people, but the majority of time by myself (that's how I recharge).
There are a lot of professions I've thought about over the years, and I'd probably enjoy some of them, too. Being a researcher or a medical examiner, for example.
But there's one thing I've wanted to be or do since I can remember: artist.
Not a designer. Designers create things for other people, based on outside specifications. Artists create things they themselves like, based on their own specifications.
There aren't a ton of successful artists out there - designer is definitely a safer career path - but they do exist, they are out there, and why not me?
(Though I won't be quitting my day job any time soon!)
The first step I'm taking is going back to school. I don't have a college degree, and while you don't need one to create, art classes have always taught me a lot and are inspiring - and I need to get back into the artist (instead of designer) way of thinking.
So I will be applying to Cornish College of the Arts. I was very impressed when I took a tour of it in high school and have wanted to go there ever since.
And now it's time. Because, hey, I gotta try.