Young people have ambitions, and sometimes, this does not involve a college degree.

This woman, for instance, shares that her teenage cousin doesn’t want to go to college but wishes to pursue a career in hairstyling.

When she encouraged her to follow her passion, her cousin’s parents were furious.

Read the story below for all the details.

AITA for telling my cousin she doesn’t have to go to college?

My (23F) entire family has gone to college, and most of them honestly look down on people without degrees.

My little cousin (16F) looks up to me, and recently called me to confess that she didn’t know if college was right for her.

My cousin has always struggled in school because it’s just not her thing.

This woman’s cousin has a talent for hairstyling.

She’s hasn’t looked at any schools, and doesn’t know what she’d major in.

She always gets quiet when people ask her about college.

The thing is she’s super good at doing hair.

She’s made over 30k just this year from doing hair (and this is just from doing it part time during the summer or on weekends).

Her cousin could make a big fortune out of her skills.

She’s also gained quite a following on social media on her hair page.

And has even had celebrities reach out to her to do their hair.

If she did this full time after high school, she could easily be making 70k or more a year right out of high school.

So, she encouraged her more, and told her it’s okay not to go to college.

I told her that if she was already having doubts about school, that she shouldn’t go to college right away, and she could pursue being a licensed hairstylist.

Plus, she could always go back to school if she doesn’t like being a full time stylist.

Her eyes lit up when I said this, and I helped her look up how to get licensed.

She seemed really excited about the idea.

Now, everyone in their family is angry at her.

Well, she ended up telling her parents what I said, and they’re incredibly angry at me.

They’re calling me a jerk for telling their daughter not to go to school, and think she’ll be the black sheep of the family for being the only one not to go to college.

They also told me I’m a horrible role model, and asked why I am trying to sabotage her.

I’m also currently getting calls from other family members telling me I’m horrible and need to tell my cousin to go to college.

AITA?

Uh oh! Let’s find out what other people have to say about this.

Here’s an insightful comment from this user.

This one shares a valid point.

Here’s a similar opinion.

College is not for everyone, says this user.

Finally, here’s an inspiring remark.

Not everyone is cut out for college.

It’s a shame that her parents are discrediting her ambitions.

If you liked that story, read this one about grandparents who set up a college fund for their grandkid because his parents won’t, but then his parents want to use the money to cover sibling’s medical expenses.