Possibly aromantic? Any theories?

[Agi]

//edited out in fear of someone I know finding this. I apologize for the inconvenience.

[Guest]

It IS a pretty specific situation, so to speak. I've had somewhat similar experiences, though the episodes of my fleeting attraction were rare and far in between, and mostly involved getting excited about new people in my life who seemed awesome, only to "level" that excitement later on (usually it just toned down to me being content we were friends and wanting nothing more).

Nobody here can tell you whether you're aromantic or not. It's up to you to say whether what you felt was romantic attraction (in which case you would not be aromantic) or something different (and in this case, yes, you could be aromantic). My advice for now is to just not think too hard about it. Adopt the label if you feel that it fits, don't if you don't. You can always change it later, or adopt a new one at some point in the future. :)

[Sisky]

Or did I just hit a wall with my introvertness and want some peace?

I think it's that. Ultimately, not even a long-term interest or relationship will override your personality. To me, crushes seem like a push in someone's direction - you walk a bit faster for a moment, and then you regain your balance and walk at your usual pace, just closer to that person. :)

Never having crushes and "skipping that phase" sounds a lot like what I've experienced, and I identify as aromantic because of that. Never had squishes though, and the one thing that could've been either a squish or a crush made me feel more sick than happy. (Not repulsed sick, but "ugh, something is wrong with me and I don't like that" sick.)

[Rhea]

I believe myself to be asexual because I have never felt sexually attracted to anybody in my life. Not any of my friends of either gender, or any of the "heart throb" or "sexy" actors in movies or TV shows. In fact, until fairly recently the idea of sex used to gross me out. Nowadays, my attitude to sexual relationships is somewhere between "other people do that sort of thing" and "find somebody who cares i.e. not me!".

I guess I am aesthetically attracted to some people, because I agree with someone when they tell me that a third party is good looking/pretty/handsome. I am also of the opinion that some of my friends, and several actors and actresses in movies I like, are good looking, but that is about it. I look at these people and I think that person is handsome or pretty. Period. I guess this means I am aromantic because simply acknowledging that a person is good looking cannot be counted as a crush, can it? I have had a couple of odd emotional attachments to good looking actors in movies, which generally follow a pattern of watching the movies they appear in repeatedly, looking them up on IMDB and looking at pictures of them a lot and occasionally writing short stories featuring characters based on them, but I have never had a crush on them, or anybody else for that matter. My understanding of having a crush on somebody would be getting a funny lurching sensation in your belly when you catch sight of your "crush", feeling happy when you think of them and wanting to get to know them better.

I choose to identify myself as aromantic because I have never experienced these feelings and I feel sure there is more to romantic attraction than this. If anyone feels the same way, please say so.

[VZwolf]

I'm in agreement with the above post by Rhea.

[Agi]

Thank you for all the answers, it means a lot that you guys had the time for my awkward ponderings.

I certainly go at a calm pace and do not think too much, I've occasionally wondered about my romantic identity for many years now. I wanted to try if asking from similar-minded could help me progress a bit. For now, based on what I've heard and experienced, I'll adopt the term aromantic to a some degree, but not specifying it yet.

Thank you for the help. If anyone has more input, please do share.