Aromanticism and not understanding romance
I've identified as ace for a while now, and I've always felt fairly comfortable with that. However, I've never felt as comfortable in my romantic orientation. I'm not really interested in dating, so I've always kind of assumed that I'm aro. However, the more I think about it, the more I realize that I just don't understand romance. What separates it from friendship? What's the difference between close friendship and dating? Part of my confusion is that I'm generally really comfortable with physical affection, especially with friends. Like, I would feel totally comfortable cuddling with or kissing some of my close friends, and to me it doesn't have a romantic connotation. I genuinely can't tell if those feelings are romantic or platonic. Does anyone have any insight? Does anyone feel the same way?
Hello, @aadalet
The way I see it, friendship is a connection between people in which they support and help each other out, while romance is a deeper connection in which one cares deeply about one or more other(s) in which you fully support the other and would do many things for them. Keep in mind that this is merely the definition of a teenager who has never had strong romantic attractions towards anyone. It is rather confusing whether feelings are romantic or platonic- I struggle with sorting these out as well.
Hopefully, these feelings will shake themselves out in time and you can be more confident about your romantic orientation. In the meantime, its perfectly fine to not fully know.
Have a good day/night!