Hello everyone,
The purpose of this thread is to give those people who seek help a form of self treatment to adequately assess, and tackle problems in their lives. There is a steady amount of traffic on this board, and the advice given are in large petty attempts at problem solving. This is largely do to the traffic on this site consisting of teenagers with a high hubris, and a limited understanding of the world around them. This guide will cover a large spectrum of topics frequently asked on this board. So before you post your question I suggest you look here first. Also, considering the majority of traffic on this site are teenagers, this guide is directed towards you.

This guide will consist of overarching topics with a follow up Q&A format to give you your answers. I'm a strong advocate for full disclosure, so in the event that there may be potential bias or a single perspective. It will be indicated by a:
"--[Disclaimer here]--"
This thread is also incomplete. I'll be updating it periodically when I have the time.

Relationships:

Q.) I totally love X and really wanna ask X out, but I can't work up the courage. What should I do?

A.) There's a lot you need to do in regards to yourself before sharing your life with someone else is actually a good idea. If you personally are not together mentally, and you do not have a pre-established level of confidence in yourself as a human being, then deciding to date someone is almost always a terrible idea doomed to fail. This means considering the vast majority of the users on this website are in their early to mid teens you don't fit these categories even partially. During puberty your temporal lobe which is where you process emotions develops well before your frontal lobe which is where your rational decision making resides. Meaning you're currently set up to make irrational, and often irresponsible decisions, and is also why a vast majority of you suffer from hopelessness, and intense anxiety. Be assured it gets a lot more manageable with age, but I digress.

(DISCLAIMER: THERE ARE BENEFITS TO DATING AT A YOUNG AGE. SEE THE QUESTION BELOW THIS)

TL;DR If your parents are still subsidizing your life you should focus on yourself before wanting to share yourself with others.

Q.) So, I'm dating X and things were going well at first, but I discovered that they weren't exactly who I thought they were. Should I break up with X?

A.) Typically no, see relationships at a young age are almost always doomed to fail, but this is actually a good thing. It puts a perspective on how you are while working intimately with others, and is an important character building experience. It establishes if you're harmful to others, or more importantly to yourself. It's encouraged to see the relationship through in order to learn as much as possible. There are, however, some instances when that is not the case. If you notice your partner is becoming physically, or emotionally abusive it's important to abort that ship as fast as you possibly can, as it's easy to regress at your age. If you're afraid he might lash out in response to that it's important to notify any trusted guardian or adult who can handle it.

TL;DR Go through with it in order to learn about relationships and yourself, but bail out if they're harmful towards you.

Q.) I think I got X pregnant/I think X got me pregnant. What do I do?

A.) Hopefully you've both talked about if you're pro abortion or not. If you decide that you don't want to star on Teen Moms then buy a plan B at your local pharmacy within 48 hours. Also purchase a pregnancy test which you should take the week following your missed period (if you've missed your period).

Q.) How do I talk to guys/girls?
--This question is pertaining to straight relationships--
--This question is coming from a male perspective--
A.) It's important to establish yourself as a person first. No typical girl/boy wants to date a squeamish, self conscious, uninteresting person with poor hygiene. Goal setting and overcoming adversity are your friends as they build character. You need to take care of yourself physically and that starts with hygiene. For you pimple faces out there most acne can be resolved simply by washing your face after you shower and applying lotion, especially for those of you with dry skin. Establishing confidence in yourself is key. Most of the anxiety you're encountering stems from self consciousness and fear of failure, and once you've grown as a person and gotten a foothold on your life talking will come naturally.

Q.) I'm confused on my sexuality. What am I?
A.) You're currently a jumbled mess of hormones that's yet to figure itself out. Your sexuality will reveal itself with time.

Q.) I broke up with X and I can't seem to move on. What do I do?
A.) Start by acknowledging your faults. use your personal failures in the relationship to establish a ground work moving forward. Next focus on things your ex-partner did that you didn't like or appreciate, and decide if they're reasonable complaints that you can keep in mind next time you're finding someone. After you've gathered as much as you can in the relationship hopefully you've concluded the reasons for the breakup and are working to improve yourself in order to make the next relationship better. When you're complacent or fixated it's always healthy to keep moving forward by improving upon your own mistakes. The biggest accomplishment you can achieve at your age is getting over yourself.

The World:

This segment will not follow the Q&A format as it is better conveyed otherwise.

If you are this thread's target demographic one of the most important lessons to learn is that your interpretation of the world is very loose, poorly constructed, and ill supported. It's very easy and understandable to want to align yourself with a specific group of people or an ideology in order to seek solace. However, know that you're not a mind that can learn easily, you're a mind that can be warped easily. It's unhealthy to identify to an ideology, political group, or any form of movement at your age. As you're, quite simply, not exposed to life to the extend in which you could accurately discern a world view. So the question is then asked: how/where do I learn about the world?

Start by reading. The past 20 centuries have consisted of literature, and the passion of the worlds figures hitherto resides in books. For those of you interested in politics I recommend reading about political ideologies to begin with. Plato's 'The Republic', Karl Marx's 'The Communist Manifesto and Other Writings' and Robert O. Paxton's 'The Anatomy of Fascism' are all doable reads at your age that cover very important topics going on in politics today. If you're interested on the atrocities of the 20th century I suggest Christopher R. Browning's 'Ordinary Men' and 'The Gulag Archipelago' by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn as they give very gruesome but accurate descriptions of what an ideology can do to corrupt the very core of a person. Understand that these aren't easy reads. They establish the ground work through which the world today functions upon. While reading books such as these you should feel disturbed, and conflicted. This is intentional as the purpose of these books in your case is to provoke thoughts and imagery inside your mind that would otherwise not occur.

This concludes the first segment. I'll be updating the thread when I find the time.

Hahahaha nice thread.

Very well written and to the point, I like this.

School:

Q.) I have very poor study habits. Are their any methods I can use to keep myself on task and efficient?

A.) The first thing that you need to solidify is always attending lecture. Nothing is more disastrous than overconfidence, and if you think you'll be fine skipping a class or two you wouldn't be seeking out this question. Secondly you need to establish efficient note taking skills. A general rule of thumb is if the instructor writes it on the board you copy it in your notes. While taking notes limit it to chicken scratches (Sloppy abbreviated jargon that only you can understand), this way your speed will increase while still being legible. This is important because listening to the actual lecture is crucial, and trying to grammatically articulate a structure of ideas while listening can be very difficult. Your homework will be to take your chicken scratches and carefully translate it onto another notebook (Your study book) and structure it in a way you can understand it. Thirdly, skim the textbook or criteria just before class. It's important that you have a general understanding of what's happening so that you wont become lost when things get swampy. You don't need to read the chapters or think deeply about the information. You just need to expose yourself to it in order to prep your mind. Lastly, and most importantly is preparing for your test. Study in pairs. A study duo is statistically the most optimal number for individual success. If you have anyone in the class that you can become study partners with, pursue that at fast as you can. Studying itself should take place a week before your exam. The right way to studying consists of you rereading relevant information from your notes and the book, while redoing all of the assigned homework. However, this process is more geared towards a college level approach, as high school level curriculum usually is never this demanding.

Q.) How important is it that I try hard to get into a good university?
--This question pertains to USA schools--
A.) Unless you're very prestigious at your high school and get some generous scholarships it's usually a safer choice financially, mentally, and physically to attend a community college, and to then transfer to a university. Statistically the dropout rate for high school to university students is noticeably higher than transfer students which can be credited to an overwhelmed mental state. The admission rate is also much higher if you're a transfer student than a high school student, as recent high school alumni are more of a flight risk than the transfer student who's been accustomed to the college system for a few years. It's also a wise decision financially as community college tuition is typically around 1/3 the cost of university, it also may be lower depending on if you're a resident or not. If you decide to attend university and want to pursue post graduate education, hopefully you've chosen a well paying major. As the overwhelming debt you will soon find yourself in could be sticking with your for many years to come. That's some advice for another time though.

Speed round:

Q.) Should I try drugs at a young age?
A.) Experimentation is normal, but don't become consumed by the endorphins.

Q.) I'm shy/[Insert introverted trait here], how do I communicate with human beings?
A.) Expose yourself to very public and verbally demanding situations until your body compensates your overwhelming anxiety by getting over it.

Q.) I want to be a revolutionary who changes the world! How should I accomplish this?
A.) Live in the world for more than 30 years and educate yourself instead of becoming an ideological mouthpiece.

Q.) I understand that I'm not educated enough to make a difference on a grand scale, but is there anything I can still do in the present in order to make a difference.
A.) You can start by seeing if your family needs fixing. Get your personal environment in order before you attempt to influence others'.

Statement.) Life is so pointless and stupid, no one understands me, the world is full of phonies.
A.) Life is ongoing with it's meaning subjective, you're stupid, you don't understand yourself, don't confuse nihilism with intelligence and perhaps you won't be a phony either.

Q.) I try to do all these nice things for people, but no one seems to like me. What am I doing wrong?
A.) Understand altruism and egoism, and make sure you're not confusing the former with the latter.

Q.) My life is a total mess and I don't know how to put it back together. Where do I start?
A.) Start by cleaning your room, and keeping it clean. Seriously.

That raps it up for segment two. Again when I have time I'll be sure to update the thread. If you have any questions you'd like to see, ask them and they'll be included. This thread is geared towards you all.

Sorry for the large break folks. Let's continue.

School Continued:

Q.) Just how important is high school?
--PERTAINS TO AMERICAN SCHOOL SYSTEMS--
A.) Unless you planning on jumping straight into university post graduation high school is obsolete. Your SAT/ACT placements hold no value outside of transferring from high school to university, and the curriculum you're taught is replicated during your first two years of college/university.

Q.) How do I deal with bullies or being picked on in school?
A.) This is really important because it directly translates to how you'll behave in a workplace. Kids love power games, and the most primitive type of power game is being physically more adept than someone and using that to make their life miserable. You need to tell a teacher or some form of official what's happening. This is not for the reasons you may think however. Something that teachers never actually tell students is when you have a serious job in a work place what do you do when someone physical threatens you or harasses you? You're sure as hell not going to fight back, that's a one way ticket to losing your job. You contact human resources and work it out from there. The stipulation that you're a 'snitch' or a 'tattler' for telling on someone when there harassing you is a petty cop out, because that's exactly how adults handle things in the real world. If you accustom yourself to scrapping with kids who upset you it will only set yourself up for failure.

Q.) I want to attain a masters degree or PhD in my given field. What should I expect?
A.) You should expect to be a student for the rest of your life. What most under graduates who are aiming for post graduate degrees don't understand is that you're never going to actually graduate. A lot of times I see kids just assume that from ages 18-22 will be their bachelors, and sometime from 22-30 they'll attain their masters or PhD and then move on. If you plan on getting a PhD/masters and aspire to focus on the frontier of something (Such as STEM degrees and psych degrees) you will ALWAYS be neck deep in the realm of academia. Always studying and always getting sleepless nights. It's not for everyone, and a vast majority of people cant handle the physical and mental effort it takes to fully dedicate your live to an expertise. If you're in high school and aspiring to get a masters or PhD know that it's going to be one of the most grueling, and character testing ordeals of your life. And when you come out on the other end you'll never be the same.

Sorry that it's a short one, but I believe I've covered all of the really common questions we come across on here. If anyone would like to ask a question for it to be added on here leave a reply and I'll answer it.