Ask hailebop!

That's a difficult question, and there's no 'right' answer. Brooke may well not want to talk about her mother's death as even years on it's likely to be a deeply upsetting topic. Bringing it up if she doesn't seem to want to talk about it isn't a good idea, but it would be good to let her know that your there for her if she needs or wants anything. Talk to her a few days beforehand that you know it's coming up to a year and that is must be difficult for her. That way if she wants to talk about it then or on the date itself, she'll know you're there and willing to listen, but won't feel pressured to share with you if she perhaps wants to deal with her grief by herself for now. On the date itself you could perhaps bring her a small, thoughtful gift, but I wouldn't make any refernence to the fact that it's been exactly a year unless she brings it up herself. Good luck.

I used to take birth control pills because I had horrific PMS symptoms and artificial hormones were the best way to control them, but, like you, I was horrendous at remembering to take them. Do you have a mobile (cell) phone that you take most places with you? Most fairly-modern phones have a feature so you can set yourself a daily reminder / alarm which you can use to remind yourself to take your pills. Once I had something physically beeping at me and reminding me to take them, I was fine and the only real problem I've had with taking them since I set up this system has been when I've popped out without them and ended up staying longer than I thought I would be. I think if you can work out a way like that to remember to take your pills, they might be the best method of contraception for you.

You might have to try more than one brand of Pill before you find one that suits you perfectly. I have a girlfriend who had to try three or four brands before she found one that she was happy with, but it's definitely worth finding the right one for you.

You don't say how old you are or whether you've had any children, so I don't know how appropriate other forms of contraception like the IUD and coil would be for you - but they might be worth discussing with your doctor when you have an appointment.

It sounds like a nervous habbit that probably started because you scratch your scalp because you have very dry skin there. The problem is now it's probably become habit so that even if you cure the cause (your dry skin) you'll probably still do it when your stressed or bored if you don't concentrate on not doing it. It's important to combat the dry skin though - you'll want to use conditioner on your hair whenever you wash it and possibly try shampoo with tea-tree oil in it, as this is very soothing for the scalp and will make it less itchy. Then you have to work on breaking the habit. A good tactic is to replace the scratching with something else - somebody else has suggested chewing gum, which sounds like a good idea. You will have to concentrate hard on not doing it though, as, like any habit, it's very easy to slip back into it.

It sounds to me like there is something getting to your mum that she's taking out on you. Could there be something that's upset her? Work? Family stuff? People wouldn't normally cry just because their kid wouldn't tidy their room - it sounds like there's something more to it that you don't know about.

This doesn't justify the way your mother is behaving in any way, but you might find that if you get to the bottom of the real problem (ie. what it is that is making her "always bitchy") then you'll probably find things get better. When she's reasonably calm ask her how she is, as you've noticed she's been a bit on edge recently. Hopefully once things are discussed she'll feel better generally and you'll find as a result she treats you a lot better too. Good luck.

I don't think it matters at all. Personally I don't close my eyes if I'm just giving a guy a peck on the cheek, but that's because it's not really a romantic thing. If it is a romantic kiss goodbye, even if it is just a very short peck on the lips, I tend to close my eyes, but that's just what I do out of habbit. I think it's just a matter of preference and what feels natural and comfortable to you. Don't overthink and it'll all be fine! :)

Your question shows that you are deeply unsure about your relationship with this guy. You say you liked him and still do, yet you broke up with him, you say you could have always said no, but that you never trusted him fully, etc. It sounds in places as though you seem to be clutching at straws trying to convince yourself that it worked, telling yourself that you were both similar and different and that everything was hunkydory.

Honestly, I think you like this guy. But I think there's a lot of ambivalence here and you're looking back and trying to read stuff in a way that it wasn't. Try and distance yourself from the situation a bit and look at it objectively - do you just want him because he's now taken, or do you genuinely want to be with him again? Did you ever really trust him, or are you just trying to squash down your own fears about this? Does his reputation really not bother you, or is it something that only doesn't bother you at the moment because you are, as it were, blinded by the headlights?

Whatever you do, I think taking it slowly is a good idea, as there is obviously something that is bothering you about the situation. Hopefully it will become clearer with time how you really feel towards this guy and from there you can do what you want. Good luck!

French braids are pretty hard to do on yourself to begin with - they take some mastering. It took me a good few attempts to be able to do it to my satisfaction. It's much easier to have somebody else do it for you - do you not have any friends who might know how to do it? If not, I'd wait until you'd mastered it properly (hopefully by the next football game?) and then wow everyone rather than having it not look perfect tomorrow because you hadn't quite got it yet. If you can't find a friend to french braid your hair, you could just try braiding it in the normal fashion and adding some cool accsessories to your hair to jazz it up a bit. :)

I think it's normal to feel slightly apprehensive even if you love the person deeply, simply because you personally place a lot of importance and significance on this event, and you want to be absolutely sure. Having a level of worry about whether what you are doing is right shows that you are making an informed decesion and weighing up your options, and that's actually a good thing. Worrying therefore is normal, because it's a big event that you are going to invest a lot emotionally in. The level you are experiencing however seems to suggest that despite your love for your boyfriend and desire to loose your virginity to him, there is something holding you back.

That might be any number of things. You say you love your boyfriend and you both seem to be dealing with this responsibly and maturely, so we can probably quite safely dismiss a nagging feeling somewhere that things aren't all perfect within your relationship. It might be something to do with the way you were raised - many people who are taught abstinence based sex-education feel feelings of guilt when they start exploring sex. It could be feelings of guilt which come from society's attitudes about young people having sex, or it could be worry about other things that is making you nervous - do you fear pregnancy, or something going wrong, or that sex might complicated your relationship? Any of these worries can play havoc with your emotions when your trying to make a decesion, so that even when you've decided rationally that you are "physically and emotionally ready" there's still something that kicks in and confuses you.

At the moment it sounds that although you've decided that rationally, you're ready, emotionally some gut instinct is holding you back. I think it's worth exploring what's going on in your head, as gut instincts often tell us a lot. If you are this ill at ease, a few more months of waiting will probably set your mind at rest or lead to the discovery of what it is that's holding you back, and then things will seem a lot clearer and easier to deal with. Good luck.

Your reaction to these traumatic accidens sounds perfectly normal to me. It's normal and completly understandable to feel shaken and frigtened by a traumatic event such as an accident even years afterwards. Therapy would undoubtedly help you to come to terms with what happened and become better at managing your fears. If this is an option for you, I would recommend exploring it. Therapy isn't an instant cute for anything, but it may well help you.

The way your family respond to your phobia is deeply insensitive, and this is something that needs to be combatted. Talk to the most sensitive member of your family about how the "jokes" your father play frigten and upset you. It's easier to talk to your dad when you have somebody who understands your viewpoint with you for emotional support as you talk about it.

I'm sure you will eventually overcome your fear, but I wish you luck for the process, as it may well be a tough ride.

ETA: In response to your feedback - no, I don't know what's best for you. I don't claim to. I merely offer advice based on the information you've given me. I don't quite understand what was so offensive about my answer.

Do you really want to be with somebody who doesn't want to be with you? It's never going to go anywhere if he doesn't feel the same way as you do. As sad as that is when you still have strong feelings for him, you shouldn't dwell on it. Leave him be and concentrate on yourself and enjoying yourself without him. Maybe at some point he'll change his mind, but unless that happens there really isn't anything you can do. Even if you could somehow manipulate him into getting back together, such a relationship would be shallow and meaningless if he didn't have real feelings for you. There are much better guys out there who will be ready to treat you with more respect - I suggest you try and find one of those instead of concentrating so much on your ex. Good luck.

Having the ends shorter than the main body of your hair is called layering it. As well as making your hair look more interesting, having layers adds volume and movement.

If your mother is going to make you cut off anything too drastic, I'd start with something which is different, but not too over the top or dramatic - red / reddish brown is cool for this as it feels different and funky but doesn't look so bold as say, platinum blonde or an artifical colour like pink or purple. You could experiment with just doing the tips a nice bright shade but I think this looks better on quite short hair, and would require you to bleach the ends before you put the colour on, and this is quite bad for your hair. For hair your length, I think it would be best to either do the whole head semi-permenantly a red-brown colour (which is cool and different without being too radical, and wouldn't require you to bleach it first) or going for highlights.

As you are still quite young and you only started your periods relatively recently there's nothing to worry about. It's normal for periods to be not quite regular until a year or so after you've started. Stress and other factors such as weight loss can effect your cycle though, so if this sounds like it could be what's up, it might be worth chatting to a doctor for reassurance or advice about stress-managment. :)

I was once told having the right side pierced means "right queer". But see, I can't say that without laughing, because it's possibly the dumbest thing ever (well, next to 'gap' standing for "gay and proud" meaning anyone who ever wore their clothing / had ever worn any of their clothing / had been in one of their stores was supposedly gay).

Your friend should get whichever side she prefers pierced. It doesn't matter. Being homosexual isn't like being a member of a secret society where nose piercing on a certain side is the uber-secret indicator of your membership. Just pick the side which looks best and go for it.

I think it's good advice to talk to your teacher now about your concerns and what your options are if you don't do well in the tests. If it's an option and you suspect you won't do well in type of test you've been set you could start work on extra credit things now.

Don't resign yourself to a bad grade - if you work hard at preparing for the tests from the beginning your bound to do a lot better than you think. For things which are pure tests of memory, I find making record cards with the things I need to remember on them to test myself - for example, you could paste printed copy of the painting on one side, then have the key details you need to remember (name, date, location, etc.) written on the opposite side. Practice by shuffling the cards, picking one, and see how much you remember. Just test yourself over and over again and you will pick it up. That's how I learnt french verbs and the various personalities of Russian history. Good luck!

You want to use a seperate conditioner after you shampoo (rather than anything that's '2 in 1') if your hair is prone to getting really knotted. You should also not brush your hair to rigorously - use a wide-toothed detangling comb slowly and gently and always start from the bottom of your hair and work up.

If your hair is frizzy it could be because it's damaged. Use hot-oil treatments and intensive leave-in conditioners to help it recover, and be careful when styling your hair - if you blow-dry your hair a lot this can lead to frizzyness as the heat damages the hair.

There's nothing actually fundamentally wrong with dressing for attention. Most people do it, to some extent, but in different ways - if you dress up to accentuate what you consider your best features, your probably doing it mostly for yourself and because you like to look good - but possibly also a little bit because you like to be admired by other people for looking good. What your friend is doing isn't so different from that. Some people like to be noticed not for being conventionally attractive, but for being different. You might not thing the way she dresses is particularly flattering for her shape or size, but if she likes the way she dresses and likes the type of attention she gets, why does it bother you? It's not worth getting worked up about how somebody looks or dresses - if she's a good person (which I assume she is, seing as you describe her as your friend despite all this) then just love her for who she is.

Firstly, I apologise for taking so long to get to this - I've just moved up to University and getting online has been a lot harder than I anticipated.

Anyway, on to your question. From what you've said here, it's quite difficult to gague exactly how he feels. There are several possibilities - he could just be disorganised and bad at actually following through with plans, or he could be nervous, like you, about coming off as too pushy and so never actually get round to organising things properly, he might be just unsure about things, or he might actually be actively trying to avoid it.

Given that you aren't sure how he feels, it might be an idea to indirectly press him. You mention you know people he knows. Why not organise a gettogether with a few of your friends and his friends and then say to him "me and x, y, z were planning to go to (place) at (time). You know (x), right? Would you like to come along?"

If there are a couple of people that both of you know involved it stops your meeting becoming so high-pressured, as there are plenty of people to escape to if things are a little akward. Asking him in this way also stops you feeling like your pressuring him again for an answer, as it's something he has a legitimate interest in. And if he is just disorganised about planning things, asking him in such a way that the date and time have already been selected means that he can't just forget to make plans.

I hope it goes well. Good luck!

1) You don't need somebody else's password to pass stuff to neofriends.

2) There aren't any hacks for neopets. It's just a case of playing games and selling things for profit. It's not hard.

"All your life"? You are *thirteen*.

Now, I don't want to patronize you. I know you aren't exactly a child any more - but at the same time, you aren't an adult, and that means it's your families responsibility to protect you.

Maybe your brother is out of line if he actually scares boys off of you. That must be frustrating, but you are being melodramatic to claim it has ruined your life. Talk to him. Tell him that you think you are old enough to start dating, and that you don't appreciate his interferance in your love life. Maybe if you show him you are mature, he'll believe that you are mature enough to have boyfriends. But honestly, your brother is not a bad guy - it's tough to be on the recieivng end and not fully get why he's doing what he's doing, but I assure you that he does have your best interests at heart in wanting you to wait a bit until you star exerimenting with boys.

Everything you need and more - http://www.apple.com/ipod/

Ipods are expensive, but they are very popular because they allow you to store a huge amount of music in a very portable way. The music isn't free, you still need to buy CDs or buy tracks from the internet to put on your ipod. An ipod is therefore pretty pointless unles you already have a considerable music collection that you couldn't even dent with a regular sized mp3 player. If you only have a few CDs, it's best to get an ordinary mp3 player. It might not have the same cool factor as an ipod, but it'll be much cheaper and more appropriate to your needs.