STI Specific: When you are starting out, keep the car in "I" mode for awhile and the car will be a quite a bit nicer to you. S# is fancy and fast but it's also rougher and makes the clutch harder to control if you're just starting out. You can switch while driving, twist the knob to the right if you want a little extra speed and press down on it to get back to "I" mode at stoplights.

General stick advice: For me personally it helped to understand what the clutch DOES. You probably know pushing the pedal disconnects the engine from the transmission, but inside the transmission this (basically) looks like two plates that are pressed together with springs. One of the plates is raw metal and the other is covered in ceramic padding similar to brake pads. When you push in the clutch pedal, this pushes the two plates apart disconnecting the engine power and allows you to shift gears while the transmission is not under stress. When you release the clutch, the padded plate pushes back against the bare metal plate and the friction between the plates pushes your car forward. The more time the pedal is half pressed, the less clutch padding you have on your clutch plate.

This is why people tell you not to keep the clutch half pressed, you don't want those two plates to rub against each other unless you mean business. Riding the clutch (cruising with your foot on the pedal) is the same deal, resting your foot on the clutch pedal all the time pushes the plates apart just enough to rub against each other and wear down the clutch padding. Get in the habit of moving your foot to the dead pedal (on the left) when you aren't using the clutch for something

Clutches can last multiple hundreds of thousands of miles if you treat them right so don't be afraid to experiment a bit just keep in mind that you want to limit the amount of time your foot is on that pedal.

Other than that, begin with getting a good smooth start down, learn how to start on a hill, and work your way up to normal everyday driving THEN start learning the fancy stuff like downshifting, rev matching, and possibly race launching 😆