There is definitely structure, but it's not as bad as it seems.

Here is some good perspective:

Imagine you lived WAAAAY out in the boonies all by yourself and taught yourself how to drive a car. You learned how to turn right and left, how to go fast, how to go slow, how to stop, etc. All in all, you can drive a car pretty well.

Now you move to a town and discover that they have ROADS to drive on. And you're not allowed to drive off them onto the sidewalks.

Not only do you have to stay on the road, but there is a line down the center and you can only drive on one side of the line!

Then there are stop signs, and crosswalks, and no passing zones. Not to mention Rail Road crossings and 25MPH speed limit in school zones when childern are present!

So it may seem like the town has a lot of "Structure", but really without it, cars would be crashing into each other all the time - not to mention all of the pedestrians that would get hit.

So when you go to a field, the first thing the instructor will show you is the traffic pattern (Or circuit, as Missileman called it). This is a rectanglular pattern with the closer of the two long legs directly over the runway.

Now, you don't ALWAYS have to stay in the "Box" but if there should ever be a mishap, of if someone calls "Coming in" (Which means he's lining up to land) you'll want to get into the pattern to stay clear of whatever may be happening.