I guess I got really indulgent here.
I used to want to be a slut and spread happiness everywhere, but when I was 16, I saw an anime which changed my life, called Revolutionary Girl Utena, where the protagonist faintly remembers a prince giving her a ring and how she wants to marry that prince. I thought it was so cool how she had these principles and I wanted to be like that. The story's aim was probably actually to break that kind of thinking but too bad. From then on, if I were to have a first love, I wanted them to be ideal, so I didn't want to 'officiate' my first relationship unless I could confirm it could be my last. But I'm also gay, and the idea of, for instance, waiting a year before putting out is ridiculous to other gay men.
I met someone I was interested in in college, but he dropped out and moved, so we talked online for about two years (we never officiated a relationship in any sense, though) with the promise that he'd come back some day. As that prospect became more distant, I realized a few things that helped me become celibate:
1) The way I act while I like someone is very unhealthy– worrying about whether they like me, worrying about other people trying to get in their pants, archiving their entire internet footprint…
2) I look down people who base their personality on their sex life, especially other gay people who can't shut up about grindr (the guy I was talking to became this). I want to be unable to relate to these people and stay alienated from them. What can I say? I enjoy looking down on people more than sex. (there's actually a couple more things like drinking that I won't do for the same reasons)
3) Part of my ideal is that my ideal other holds the same ideals. The expectation others to want their 'first love' to be 'their last' developed into a purity complex– If someone failed, they were scarred. He was nothing close to the ideal I was looking for, and as I get older, the pool of gay virgins shrinks a lot. But I love myself and I want to be my ideal, so I want to protect my innocence, even when I'm no longer cute, even if I can find that significant other.
I still jack off though. Would like to downsize on that but I have no big reason. I've only been celibate for close to a year now and I'm confident in doing it for life, as I've done other things like choosing to be straight edge for close to ten years, but I worry about regretting it when I'm too old
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