long post - i am a 20F who has always liked the idea of traditional relationships, being feminine and taking care of my man. i am very caring and kindhearted (a little too sensitive too)

however, i did get brainwashed by the whole feminism ideology when i was much younger and i can see how that led me to being used and seen as only a casual thing to men and throwing around "i hate men" propaganda and i did engage in hookups in the past because of childhood trauma, emotionally and physically absent parents, abuse and bullying and i was also just a very insecure girl :( - it is a part of my life i deeply regret and never want to return to again! i sometimes feel worthless because of my past and some of the things i did even though i was young and well… dumb and so so naive.

i’m tired of having the same outcome with men and being told “i’m not ready for a relationship”; i want to change this pattern. i’ve been hurt so much by men and i realized i was too overwhelming so i started following and listening to adrienne ever heart and i read this subreddit sometimes. i’m a christian so sometimes i do feel ashamed of certain things i’ve done like going clubbing and getting so drunk i barely remember my night or kissing random boys, btw i don’t do any of this now. i truly did change my life around. people from high school always make comments on how i’ve change.

i stopped clubbing when i was 17 because i realized i was getting nothing out of it. i was trying to fit in and i ultimately betrayed myself and my morals. i’m more of a homebody now but i struggle with having sex with men too early because i do have a high libido and i do enjoy sex and for some reason i think this will make them stay, it doesn’t… now i want that to be something i only give to a man who commits to me. i’ve quit dating apps and think i am going to give myself a year long break from dating men in general to really work on myself. i am currently in therapy and it’s what has helped me realize a lot of the things i’ve done has come from a place of trauma.

but what are other things i can use to learn and be the women i want to be and reconcile with my "dark" past?

i know i’m so young but i’m ready to be in a long term committed relationship. i want to be a wife and a mother (i knew i wanted to be a mother when i was 14) and i don’t want to wait until i’m 35 - not that it is a bad thing but people always say that’s the perfect age for marriage but boys my age are not looking for marriage, now i feel like myself and more feminine and it almost seems like boys my age want a more masculine kind of girl