I know this is probably a question no one can really answer for me as it's probably different for everyone. But... How do you know it's the right time to tell your parents? I'm most concerned/worried about telling them. Lately, every time I'm with my mom, I have this crazy urge to just blurt it out..."Mom, I'm bisexual." And see what happens. I don't think she'll do anything drastic, like stop talking to me or disown me (that would be my grandparents who worry me in that respect). But, I'm not dating anyone right now...and I don't foresee myself dating anyone for a while (stupid social anxiety)...so, is it worth telling her? And, what if I tell her and I end up dating a man next? She'll think I'm lying to her. Or...and this is my real concern...what if I tell her, and she looks at me and says something to the effect of "now, you KNOW that's not true...you're making that up...stop that." My mom can be a bit dismissive about things. If she's dismissive about this, it will kill me and ruin the last year of working to come to terms with this myself. I also have this mini-complex about dealing with this in my mid-thirties...like it should have all been figured out when I was in HS or college... I don't know. I think there's about 10 questions buried in there...sorry for the confused, rambling nature.
There is nothing wrong with figuring this out past college! Tons of people do and you're no exception. The only reason it seems like so many people are figuring it out earlier is because nowadays homosexuality is much more accepted in areas, so people don't have to leave it until later. You're right on track. As for what to tell your mom, if you feel she'll hear you out, just explain what you're feeling. You could give the conversation a serious tone and let her know that you've been giving it a lot of thought and were worried at what her reaction would be. By setting that tone you also give off the impression that you aren't kidding around in any sense of the word, and hopefully she'll pick up on that. Is it worth telling her? Definitely. You get to be more honest with yourself and it'll probably make you feel better in the long run. And then if you ever do date a girl, you can bring her home without having to worry about this then. As for when to tell her, well, here's the thing: there will never be a "right" time to tell them. If you hold out for a "right" time, you're going to drive yourself crazy making excuses on why this time is not good enough and well, not actually move forward. So pick a time, maybe when you're feeling a surge of bravery, and commit yourself to it (barring extreme circumstances). By telling yourself (or even us!) that you're going to do it, you'll try and get it done - humans like to be consistent by nature. Of course, there are probably some times you should avoid (i.e. really stressful times, times when she can't dedicate her attention to you, public areas), but beyond that, anything's fair game. You're right though, it's different for everyone, so pick whatever you're most comfortable with. Just don't hit the "waiting for a perfect moment" pitfall.
