Want to be a dom, dont know if I can be one

All my life i thought I was a very vanilla person. The thought of tying people up and going to town or humiliating people was just dirty and not something I could see anyone I know doing it. They always turned me off (and still do). But now I've met a few people who I can clearly imagine doing things like that with.

Now, on top of that, I never saw myself as a dom. I wanted to be taken care of by a strong, emotionally supportive man and saw myself as a submissive and thats that. I never really explored the possibility of being a dom. Until I met this guy that im talking with.

I cant really explain all the feelings I have cause I'm not sure of what a dominate is exactly. I can picture it in my head and picture myself doing some of thise things, but I have very little friends in the BDSM community and I'm also really shy (another very big point for me). I feel like even if I became a dom, I wouldn't know how to be one. I have anxiety, so initiating anything is a struggle sometimes (a lot of times, actually).

Basically, I'm asking what does being a dom mean, what do they do, and how can I be one? Any advice is welcome. I'd also love to hear what being a dom means from a submissive's perspective, it would help me a lot!

Edits: spelling