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Discovering your sexuality: in the process of maturing, both physically and emotionally, it''s normal to have questions about sexuality and sexual orientation. The answers aren''t always quick to surface.

Article Excerpt
He was good-looking, that first-chair trombone player, and he played so well. From where she sat in the clarinet section at band camp, she could see him making witty remarks to the guy next to him. He wasn't from her school he came from a much bigger school in another city--and he just seemed so ... cool.

He was Amanda's first big crush, and she can remember exactly how she felt about him that summer. Even though she's in college now (and doesn't know what ever happened to the trombone player), she recalls how her heart beat wildly when he walked off the concert stage right beside her ... and how she tried some not-too-obvious ways to get his attention ... and how she treasured her camp photo of the band with him looking right out at her.

Amanda couldn't define it then, but she was taking a step in her sexual development. She had read lots of young adult novels about boy and girl relationships and romance. But until that summer at camp, she had not felt attracted to any particular boy. Sure, she and her friends had talked about being attracted to guys, but now she felt it.

What Amanda was experiencing happens when a young person matures sexually. She was discovering her sexual identity as a young woman physically attracted to a young man. Hers is the most common example of sexual orientation: that of attraction to a member of the opposite sex.

But how about the trombone player? He and Amanda had talked, but that's where it stayed. Did he have a crush on Amanda--or was that the last thing on his mind? Could he perhaps have had a crush on another guy in the band?...