What should I do about the dilemma of castling early? OK, it has been said that one of the opening fundamentals is to castle early, but I have a dilemma with this and it may very well be a natural dilemma that has to be dealt with or there many be signs that one could look for. Here is the dilemma:

If I castle early, I feel my opponent has a slight advantage especially because now they know where to direct their pieces, but if I delay castling and my opponent moves their pieces to the one side of the board and I castle on the opposite, I feel I have gained some time because they have to work their way back to my castled side, however, I do know that if I do not castle early, I risk leaving my king wide open.  Further light on this would be helpful.
I think you outline the balance well, that is what it is. You are talking about attempting to misdirect an opponent. In any game, misdirection is a dangerous tactic that takes skill to know when to make your move.

If you can get to know your opponent you can try to judge how they will move on you. If you are dead set on castling to a particular side, and your opponent knows that, then delaying doesn't help you at all.

The best solution is to remain flexible and let your opponents over or under steps dictate which tactic to use. This is as true for when to castle as anything other tactic.