My nonexistent romantic life

Being raised as a conservative homeschooler, I now find that I have absolutely no idea how to talk to those I have a romantic interest in. I no longer believe in "courting", but that being said, I don't think dating is any better. I'm not going to pretend to be an expert in relationships or anything of the sort.I have found that most relationships are failed attempts and finding someone worth being with. Half my relationships ended because I messed up, the other half because the other party involved. So the question is; is it worth it? Do I continue to ignore those I feel for because I know chances are it will end poorly? Or do I continue to dive into relationships taking the slim chance that it wont end in disaster. No matter what people say, there is no going back to being friends after being something more. I have seen this attempted in mine and others lives. It is an epic fail every time. My struggle right now is that I have been stuck on someone for the longest time. It's a crush that has really done me more harm than good. One that I'm finally getting over.  Now that I'm ready to move on, I find myself trying to figure out how to spill my feelings to a close friend, with out risking ruining what we have right now. Any advice?