Hello again, pepsifreak01

Ok, I can see where you're coming from.

You're worried about what other people think of you for dating a girl who's 'only' 16 or 17 yo.

Most men, pepsi, will be thinking to themselves 'Lucky, lucky bastard! How does he do it? I wish I could be with her!'

Most women will be jealous.

Look, you're not so old yourself, right? Early twenties, maybe? (And please, please don't answer that! That's personal info - keep it to yourself!).

So, my guess (and, it is a guess) is, the age gap isn't that great at all. There are age gaps, pepsi, and then there are age gaps. There's 10 years, & 30 yrs.

And even then, age is just a number. Hey, what really counts is whether the two of you are happy together. If you are, then what business does anyone else have in it, anyhow? Also, she's a consenting adult, as far as the law is concerned.

As for friends and family... Before I came out to certain members of my family, and some of my friends, most of them were rabidly anti-pedophilia. But when I came out to them, they very quickly changed their views about it all. Most of them accept it, and a couple of them are now verging on being pro-ped.

So, you'd be surprised. Condemning people you don't even know is easy. Doing that when you do know them, though, and you're aware of all of the positive things that they are and have to give - that becomes much tougher.

We are only condemned because we are de-humanized. As soon as we become human, as indeed we are, it melts away quite quickly.

You also brought up the scenario of your friends marrying & having kids, and somehow being left behind (because that's how you'll really be feeling about it, trust me) - well, that sounds like it could be tough, on the face of it. But believe me, some of my friends are in marriages that they wish they weren't in, some of them hate being tied down by their family... We all have our problems, my friend, and there are advantages and disadvantages to everything.

Don't sweat things so much. Your girlfriend's of legal age, so you're not in danger of breaking the law, so just live your life & have fun.

If you need any more input, or have some probs, give us a shout again.

Oh, but in the meantime - you might want to respond to the answers of any folks who respond to this. It's kinda polite anyhow, but also some of us rather wonder sometimes whether our responses have actually reached you.

It doesn't have to be much, but just a 'hi' or 'thanks' back will do! :o)

Take good care of yourself, pepsi.

TTFN,

Tril