I know you have heard: “Boys only want one thing,” and, “They’ll take whatever they can get.”  Especially when dealing with guys who fit these generalizations, it can be tricky to understand how to best handle difficult, high-pressure situations with the opposite sex.

I hope that you can benefit from the methods I have developed to avoid the rotten apples, to gain boys’ respect; to slow them down, and to overall manage uncomfortable situations as smoothly as possible.  Sometimes I wish I had been advised years ago to:

I think the phrase "changed my life" gets thrown around too much. It takes a lot to turn a life around, something huge. In the past 18 months, my life has made a complete 180. I've gone from a slump to a peak faster than anyone else I know. Here's five moments from my Youth Leadership Team experience and how they changed my life. 

Though obviously fun to use, Facebook can also be a major source of stress. We know it’s changed the way we date, so before you accidentally detonate one, here are a few Facebook-related relationship landmines and how to avoid them.

Check out Part 1 here.

You’ve already realized that dating your friends’ exes comes with its own complications. But dating your exes’ friends isn’t any easier. High school can be a bubble that’s hard to break out of. This means branching out romantically might not always be a viable option. But once you start pursuing multiple people from a friend group you’re laying the foundation for awkward times in the near future. This decision will put a stress on your relationship, the whole social circle, and especially on your boyfriend’s or girlfriend’s friendship. So before you swap partners like you’re learning to square dance think about the consequences.

As the saying goes: you can pick your friends, you can pick your nose, but you can’t pick your friend’s nose. Nor can you pick your friend’s ex as your new boyfriend or girlfriend. Sure, no one can officially tell you who to and who not to date. We all try to take the advice from our friends, respect the wishes of our parents, and listen to our instincts, but figuring out who is the right fit for us romantically is a trial-and-error process each time. If you find yourself on the verge of dating the ex of one of your friends, it’s time to think rethink. Maybe the pros and cons of seeing someone your friend used to date can help you decide. 

We’ve all been there…your best friend has a new boyfriend/girlfriend that you aren’t absolutely crazy about. Put frankly, you just really don’t like him/her whatsoever. As a good friend, you try to remain supportive of their relationship. You play that whole, “if my friend is happy, I’m happy” game with yourself. Sooner or later, however, the two of you are talking and the reality of the situation slips out:

We're all back to school now, and for some of us, that means starting the dreaded Health 101 class…aka, Sex Education. If you're sitting through that class this year, like Amber said, you're potentially being subjected to your gym teacher and some overly dramatic (fairly gross in some cases) slides and cheesy health videos made before you were born. Not fun and not easy to take anything of use out of that situation.

Switching to a new school is, in a word, overwhelming. In my case, you’re thrown into a class of 300 kids, on a campus with 700 kids, with tons of hard classes, and no friends (yet). 

I remember how awkward it was. My closest friend was going out with a guy who was known to be a player. He was somewhat good looking, and dressed like he came out of a catalog. She was so caught up in his clothing and his “good looks”, that she ignored all the girls who were his “best friends” aka “side joints,” in other words the girls he spent time with when my friend wasn’t around. I remember finding out he was cheating. 

You can’t escape your teen years without having to deal with rumors—it’s just one of those crappy realities.  Whether you’ve started one, are hearing one, or the rumor is about you, here are some things to keep in mind: