Welcome to Gaia! ::

Yes, 4va, I'd suggest checking out all the different movements that you can. Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist, Renewal, Humanist, Orthodox. Not all of these movements will have synagogues or rabbis in every town, but check out whatever you can find. Ask the rabbis questions. See what calls to you.

I wasn't reared in an observant Jewish home at all; in fact, I got almost NO Jewish information/education at all until I was an adult. For myself, I learned Reform first, and then approached Orthodoxy later on. I've talked to other acquaintances who said they did the same, and yet more who said they started with learning about traditional/Orthodox Judaism and then learned the more liberal views of Conservative and Reform. The group consensus is that, just like in art class, ballet, creative writing, or even the hard sciences, the approach should be the same: learn the basic, traditional forms first, then feel free to experiment with innovations. After all, in math you learn integers before fractions; in taking any foreign language, you first learn basic vocabulary and verb conjugation before creating sentences or holding real conversations. Religion's innovations and new ideas, too, are easier to understand and make sense of, if you've first learned the basic traditions and then begun to try to add personal 'flair'. wink

I hope the best for you, In media res. I understand your plight being a convert and a lesbian as well. I started at a more liberal, Reform temple, and now I'm somewhere between Reform and Conservative (Reformative?... Heh) now.
Divash makes a good suggestion. You should check out all of the different movements you can before making a decision.

I shall see you around in the ED and here, In media.
Good luck! heart