Hey there. I'm gonna copy/paste a couple of things I wrote elsewhere, then add some more at the end.

Let's get to it.

"All links below are to define terms, and may be ignored.

I'm asexual.

I'm only now figuring this out, but it turns out I've been asexual for most or all of my life. Honestly, this makes a lot of my previous behavior make more sense. I've always been pretty oblivious to the opposite gender (or the same gender, for that matter).

I'm not aromantic (I'm heteroromantic). I still get the same crushes and emotional attachments as anyone else, I just don't have a desire to act on them in a way that will lead to sex. I also don't seek people out to try and get romantically involved, but that's a different issue.

I've wondered about this before, but I'd come to the conclusion that I was demisexual, which was fine because I'm abstinent because of my faith.

I know this question will probably come up, so I'm just gonna say that I am a virgin, and move on.

Also note that this is about orientation, not gender identity. I'm male by birth, and by choice.

It's storytime!

My first job (right out of high school) was working at a weekend/summer camp. We had mostly church retreats, youth camps, and other things like that. My first boss was an older gentleman who, as a game (sort of), kept trying to set me up with girls. It wasn't anything bad, he just set it up so that we'd work together, or I'd be sent to work where there were female campers my age, or he'd try to talk me into asking them out, or getting their number, or sometimes just talking to them. Though there were a few that I thought were cute, or considered asking out, mostly I treated it like a game, and always found one reason or another to reject his suggestions.

One incident sticks out in my mind (though it was far from the only one). We had taken a break, and were sitting outside listening to one of the campers' events, and keeping kinda quiet so we wouldn't interrupt them. My boss nudged me, and point over towards someone in the crowd. I looked, and couldn't tell what he was trying to get me to see, so I went back to listening. He nudged me again, did the same thing, and I had the same reaction. This repeated a couple more times before we went back to work.

Once we got back to work, I was informed that he had been trying to get me to check out a cute girl who was about my age. Apparently everyone else there had gotten what was going on, but I had been oblivious. I was then teased about this for a while, but I just filed it as another time I was oblivious.

I said before that this wasn't an isolated incident? Stuff like this happened all the time while I was working there. Because I was raised both christian and homeschooled, I had very little experience around other people. I figured that I was just awkward and would grow out of it, or was a ditz and would eventually find a girl I liked, or my brain was wired differently and I'd have to get to know a girl before I was attracted to her (aka demisexuality, but I didn't know that at the time).

Looking back though, I can't think of a single instance of sexual attraction with another person, regardless of gender. I can think of some times where I had a crush on a girl, but it was never because I wanted to have sex with her. I wouldn't necessarily have objected to sex, but again I was raised christian, so it wasn't even on the table anyway (in my mind at least).

I haven't told anyone yet (besides this post, obviously), but this isn't really something I need to tell anyone either. I have a lot to figure out, but other people don't really factor into this yet."

"I would like to say that this is something I'm certain about. I've spent several days thinking over the possibilities and alternate explanations, but this one fits the best, and it explains so much about the way I am. I feel like I've already made peace with this, and it's just a matter of, as you said, adjusting others expectations.

As for people "shipping" me , it's not something my family does a lot of, and the boss I mentioned did it with everyone. I was just his favorite, so he focused on pairing me off whenever I was around.

I don't expect this to necessarily change my lifestyle, but it might make things a little easier now that I know what to call it."

Here's some new stuff:

I talked to my parents and my younger brother about this today, and their reactions were pretty much, "Ok, yeah. I could see that;" As I put it, it was unexpected, but not too surprising. I'm guessing that a lot of people will react that way. Luckily (and I praise God for this), my parents aren't the type to say either "No, you have to get married. It's God's will," or "Are you sure you aren't just gay?" I'm really, really, fortunate to have the parents that I do.

So, what about you guys? I know that you haven't known me that long, but is this out of left field, or something you could have guessed?

Anyway, please direct any questions to my ask me thread. Thanks for reading!