Jen, well first of all, I need to give you a big pat on the back for at least acknowledging your desire to tackle the submissive life. It isn't something that comes easily to a lot of people, myself included. To give you some examples, I can only relate to my own experience.

I, too, had a feeling of my nature when I was young, but, I never took any action what so ever. When I was 16 I saw an HBO special called Real Sex and one of the stories was about the BDSM scene. I was intrigued, but I still didn't do anything about it.
Then when I was around 20, I stumbled into a very abusive relationship and when I got out, I found that I had changed dramatically. I was scared of everything, especially anything regarding myself and my desires.
Then I stumbled to and adult chat site where I saw a BDSM chatroom. My pointer hovered over the link so many times but I kept saying to myself. "But I'm not a freak. I don't like being beaten." Of course my total perspective was jaded because of of the "normal" people's view on the subject. However, curiosity took over caution and I went in. To my surprise, and delight, I found I was horribly wrong. I met a lot of wonderful people, especially my Master and now husband.

I guess what I am trying to say is that to try and not be afraid of your desires and what everyone else thinks. If you are worried about being outcast, leave that side of your life away from "normal" people. But my thought is...how can so many people be wrong? Hope it helps.