The Art of Man, I wouldn’t worry about defining or labeling yourself as poly (or anything else, for that matter) — I think of polyamoty as more of a lifestyle choice and relationship preference. These preferences may change through time too — you just have to try different things and see what works best for you and your partner(s). When my husband and I started dating we couldn’t imagine that anything other than monogamy was even an option. As the time went by though, we grew and changed and explored other options and came to realize what kind of relationships would work for us — with each other and other people in the picture.

You might end up perfrectly content in a long-term monogamous relationship, or you may develop feelings for more than one person (or even a few people at once) at some point in your life — the key is to be open to whatever happens, not lying to yourself or your partners about your needs and feelings, and communicating early and often about your preferences.

Just like for Jasna, polyamory to me means the freedom to explore deep connections with people and the ability to stay authentic to myself without being limited by societal norms.