pinewillowbirch

having grown up allo and only recently at the point of embracing and exploring aro feelings, i definitely wish i knew sooner. i think i kind of just expected myself to be allo and that it was almost a requirement, if that makes sense, to date. like a very conditioned thing. in a lot of ways, i think dating was a sense of safety for me from the rejection i faced from my own family - in the form of expectations i never met, appearances i felt i had to keep. if i had know about aro sooner, i think i would've been able to ease the gas and not feel the pressure to date like i now realize i did.

hi roboticanary- thanks for the reply! societal and physiological expectations can really have a grip i think and being able to let those go is so freeing. it is interesting to think of all the different experiences people have of what it means to be aroace. look forward to chatting more! what has your experience looked like?

hi all- 28 yr old male here. i'm newly exploring burgeoning feelings of aromanticism/asexuality. i dated a lot between ages 14-27, but eventually i started feeling like i needed to be single, like i wasn't being true to myself. i had a lot going on in my life and things i needed to sort out. i'm finally single and now i'm finding i don't miss romance at all, it's like a weight is lifted. i feel like i felt love for the people i was with, i'm pretty sure of that. but i feel like that part of my life is over now, if that makes sense? it's hard for me to make sense of all of this. i know i don't