Bike Forums - choosing a biking style/bike

Hey, first post so if its in the wrong spot..forgive me <3

Firstly, im not exactly new to biking. Ive always loved doing it. I did it growing up..making my own trails in the bush with a $100 bike from Walmart haha. What i need help with is deciding that syle of biking i would fit into, and what kind of bike i should look into purchasing. I dont want to spend a LOT of money on a bike right now, because i have school to pay for, but id like something that will get me started, and maybe ill move to bigger and better things.

The kind of biking that i like is mountain, or trails i guess. I like natural terrain more than man made jumps and things like that, but i dont mind it sometimes. I like getting air and doing jumps, but not doing tricks.
I've asked a couple other people, and they suggested that i start off with a "Adventure X" style bike, or a freeride bike. I would assume i ride a bit aggressive, and i dont like sitting down, so i tried looking at the freeride bikes recently, they sort of have that leaned back look. I like that cause i dont want my seat smacking me in the nuts anymore, like i usually get from normal mountain bikes.

Anyways, open to opinions/suggestions.
Thanks in advance!

edit:

I thought id also add that im not a very tall person, im only 5'6. So bikes with high seat mountings are pretty uncomfortable, as well as they give me the feeling that im going to go flying over the handle bars. (since usually the seats at about the same height as the handle bars).