ASU2003

This is a question that I've been wondering about for a while now. As I have grown up, I've been exposed to different relationship styles. First, it was long-term monogamous relationships, with the people getting married to the first person they dated. In high school it was serial monogamous relationships, in college it was random one night stands/f-buddies/serial monogamous(w/ cheating), and now it's poly or swinging lifestyles. It's not that the other relationships options aren't there, it just that my eyes have been opened to these other lifestyles I didn't know about.

I've been on the sidelines with the celibate lifestyle the entire time, but even if I got to choose one of these options, I'm not sure which one would make me the happiest. And that is the problem. How do I determine which lifestyle would be the best without actually experimenting and hurting people in the process. Without worrying about sex leaves a lot of time to do other things. But is hard to deal with emotionally and psychologically. Is finding a virgin girl and being with her the rest of my life the best option like I thought it would be years ago? Is it better to date/hook-up/have sex with a bunch of different people until you find the best one? Should I try to come to terms with the fact that this other person has had sex with other people before and sex and love are separate, plus I would be able to get some from others in a swinging environment. Then there is the Hugh Hefner relationship model with 3 girls that come to you for money and sex. What about a group relationship? I haven't seen or heard anything about these, and I'm surprised. Why aren't there more 4,6,8 person (1:1 M-F ratio) relationships where there is swinging within that group, but no outside people. (Thinks if the Friends TV show cast all lived in the same house and slept with together or with a different person each night) Could it work? Would jealousy or comparing yourself to others be a problem?

I debated if I should include poly relationships on this list, because they tend to be glamorized and nobody ever considers negative aspects of them when thinking about it. There are also a lot of different types. So, please only select it if you have been in this type of relationship and think it is the best still.

Do you wish you had done things differently? Do you want to have a different relationship type, but would never bring it up? Do you have no regrets and are happy with the choices you made? It's just life after all and no one gets out alive.