This seems very odd to be asking such a question at my age…. late teens. I wanted more mature answers to my questions. These days it seems to be the “popular thing” to be bisexual or gay or lesbian but to me it’s serious. Most people my age I know that say they’re gay or lesbian or bi go back and forth and completely mess up friendships and sometimes even strain their families with them going back and forth saying they’re gay then they’re straight then they’re bi and it’s a cycle. I’ve come to a conclusion that it is perfectly normal for a teenager to be curious about being with the same sex but I do not get the point in having a lot of meaningless sex or saying things that could come back to haunt one’s self. I have a friend who for a year said she was lesbian and she had a lot of sex with multiple girls and went through a depression saying she wanted to kill herself because of what she’s done and she fought her parents on her being a lesbian, which they said they’d be ok with if they didn’t know it was a phase. She fought with her parents and hit her mother but is now saying she’s straight. The same thing has happened with a guy friend of mine of whom I had strong feelings for and vice verse but he went to summer camp and as soon as he got back he said he was gay because one of the counselor’s had grabbed his penis and went farther. After that summer camp he spent the first semester of school having sex with guys every weekend, complaining how he didn’t like it but since everyone says he’s gay and he’s had a sexual feeling toward another male he was gay and now he’s just like my other friend and says he’s straight and regrets whoring out. The same has happened to another friend who says she’s bi. I am confused about my sexual orientation. Though I am quite young, these years are the years that usually matter most and will have the most impact of my life. I have an amazing boyfriend of whom I’ve been with for about a year and a half, we’ve known each other our whole life and he is my prize but I can’t help but stare at some other females and have a certain feeling. He knows the way I feel and he knows my feeling about this subject and he is pretty mature about it and we love each other deeply and actually being lesbian or bisexual would break his heart but he is the one telling me to explore and see what I really want. I have had sexual encounters before with other girls that are curious and most I have just eased out of. I know it must not be good to ignore feelings that have an impact on me severely. I have had a girlfriend before and a lot of offers but I hope so much that I am not really bisexual or even lesbian because I do not wish to break this wonderful guy’s heart. Though I do not want to have such feelings they are quite strong and the sexual encounters I have had with people of the same sex I have not regretted and they’ve felt quite right. I’m wishing that you could answer on if this is just a phase or if sometime in the future I should explore this. I know that this sounds ridiculous that I’m a teenager asking these questions because I feel that I know your answer might be that it’s just a phase but I just need guidance because I don’t want to end up like most of the people my age just do a lot and end up regretting it or they think too deeply about this kind of stuff or too lightly. What do you think?