Having sifted through the information presented, I figured I'd try and add something to the conversation.
Before beginning, I've concluded that relationships are one of the more difficult things that this life presents us with. That said, the most important thing I see with life in general is to let go of categories. We are all people and that's all the matters. It doesn't matter what you or someone else classifies you as. Placing blame on a label or letting a label break your feelings for another leads to far more problems than solutions. After all, that is the major basis of prejudice.
With all of that said, age is also something to take out of the equation in the sense of being 12, 20, or 50. Of course, State Laws are the final decider and I do not in any way promote infraction of said law. What I mean is that love can be love between two 12 year olds, two 20 year olds, and so forth. Arbitrary numbers of course, you hopefully get the idea of what I am trying to say. If not, best to just ignore me.
So, with my disclaimer and explanation, I will get into the issues.
Life is all about happiness without infringing upon others (for the most part and this can be argued, as with everything). You should always try to pursue your happiness, be it alone, or be it with another individual. With that, I've learned two major things having gone through series of terrible dating experiences. The first important thing I learned was that you're going to get hurt. Honestly, you should get expect to get hurt and relish it. Why do I say relish it, you may ask? Well, if you are able to find some bit of wisdom, understanding, and in some cases, joy from such a thing, you are much better off. Dating someone for a while and developing a relationship takes work.
The second important thing I learned piggy-backs from that to say that you gotta make it work if you want it. Relationships, as I mentioned, are one of the most stressful, dangerous, and complicated things we have to deal with in this life. The rewards for all this effort are generally well worth it. You gotta put something in (which is your heart most of the time) to get something out of it (Usually part of their heart as I use this analogy).
As with all things, there are outliers, but if you can understand that it all takes time, effort, and some luck, you'll find exactly what you are looking for to make you happy. After all, we've all got a fair amount of time to live so make the best of it.
Hopefully, I have given a little bit of insight somewhere into something.
