“We are your biggest fans, Shelby.” “We’ll always love you.” “You’ll always be our little girl.” “Shel, if you’re happy, we’re happy.”

Whoever came up with the phrase “Agree to Disagree” was probably single when they said it. It’s hard to have a romantic relationship that involves absolutely zero arguments. And that’s okay. A disagreement every now and then doesn’t make a relationship unhealthy—as long as you handle it in a healthy way.  The following five techniques should be avoided when arguing with your girlfriend if you put your relationship with her above always being right.

Is there anything more annoying than that couple you know who are always grossly engaging in excessive PDA? You know—the ones who can’t keep their hands off one another and are always so touchy-feely it makes everyone around them uncomfortable? Sadly there is. What’s worse is the guy who is a total overbearing boyfriend to his girl.

Once you get to high school, a whole new world of possibilities opens up for you. Suddenly you aren’t limited to dating the boys you’ve known since kindergarten—the same ones who put gum in your hair or threw spitballs at you from across the room. Nope, you can leave those immature losers behind for a sophisticated older guy.

One moment you can feel like a suave Casanova while talking to a girl via text and the next like a bumbling uncomfortable dweeb speaking to her in person. But just because you might be more confident behind a screen doesn’t mean you should have your whole relationship through instant message. Emoticons are not legitimate substitutes for interacting face-to-face. If you want your relationships to work, you’ve got to learn how to function IRL (in real life).

Guys often get a bad rap for being the ones who pressure their girlfriends into having sex. So it may surprise you to know that a lot of guys (8 out of 10 if you want to get exact) say that they feel pressured by their friends, the media, even girls, to get busy doing “it”.

In high school we have teachers to help us through tough subjects, we have coaches to guide us to victory, and a lucky few of us have older brothers who are there to give us advice as we try to figure out girls, dating, and relationships. But I didn’t have an older brother and many of you might not either. In a previous post, Maritza noted that there was tons of information she never got from her older sister that might have prevented some stupid romantic mistakes. And now it’s my turn to imagine which words of wisdom would have been most helpful from an older brother. 

It may be one of the seven deadly sins, but envy or, more accurately, jealously can sometimes be a good thing in a relationship—if you don’t let it get the best of you.  Think about it: if you’re even the slightest bit jealous if another girl or guy who tries to cozy up to your bf or gf, that could mean you have deeper feelings for them then you realized. Which could lead to a really meaningful relationship.

If you could give other teens one piece of advice about relationships, what would it be? Hear what teens have to say and tell us what you think.
 

Sure, cell phones and the Internet are great ways to get to know someone better, but there are times they can get you into trouble. Have you ever been in a situation where you overshared online or texted something you couldn’t take back?  Hear what other teens have to say in this What’s Your Relationship Reality video.