Welcome, LadyMD
Haven't read everyone's replies, yet, so forgive me if this has been talked about.
I would have to chime in with a comment about your initial impressions of what this place might be.
By reading most of the everyday drivel posted by some of the less experienced (and often younger) guys on here, the impression you'll get will be quite skewed. I know I shake my head quite often at some of the advice given here.
You need to realize that everyone who visits this site is on a different path, and at different points in the journey.
Many rely on tricks, tactics, alpha male b.s. and various superficial exploits to "pull hot chicks" and get laid. As a younger man, that stuff was exciting but as you get older (I'm soon to be 33yrs old) you really start to come into a place where, as you said, you become a good man.
I am at a point as a matured man where I can walk the line between being masculine, dominant, protective and "alpha" while also being caring, nurturing and genuinely interested in the woman I date, and what she has to say.
Have I been with many women? Yes. I don't think there is anything wrong with exploring one's own sexuality, sharing experiences with someone else and simply playing the field to get a sense for what you like and what you don't like.
At the end of all this, I now have a very strong sense of who I am and what I want from a partner. Had I fallen into the trap of marrying my highschool sweetheart (as many of my friends did) I'd be 12+yrs into what would most likely be a pretty lackluster marriage.
I have reached a point where I am looking to plant my feet and start a family with an exceptional woman. I am grounded and I am not afraid of commitment. The issue is, I hold myself in such high regard and know that I won't settle for anything less than the right woman for me.
This is MY issue. Most of the women I meet fall short. I break it off, once I realize that I don't see myself spending my life with them. Why would I just go along with something, just because we've been dating for a couple of years?
But, at the age of 33, I'm very much UN-interested in adding more notches to my belt. It was never my intentions in the first place, but over the years I've been with many women. I never just ditched them, though. Either we both knew it was a one night stand or something to just enjoy but not get too involved with, or it turned into a long term relationship that eventually ran it's course. No regrets and I shared some amazing times with some amazing women.
It is what made me the man I am today. I've learned compassion and how to simply love people for who and what they are. If I can bless someone's life, even for a night, and they can do the same for me then where is the harm in that?
Again, I reiterate that I'm a matured man, so my views will absolutely not resonate with the late teens and early twenty something guys on here who arepredominantly driven by hormones, the need for "status" and the fear of being discovered for what they truly are, at this stage of their growth and development: BOYS