Can you help me out?

Hi all, I'm brand new. Just saying hi to start off!

Anyway, I am unsure about my hair condition and type and it's starting to frustrate me because I can never get the style I want. I'm a guy, 19. Whenever I use a gel in my hair it always just make my hair feel dry and brittle after the gel dries. The style doesn't usually hold properly and my hair just does what it wants to especially in the front at my bangs where I like to do most of my styling.

They like to lay in a part to the side and not be up, so when I try to do something with them (i.e. sticking them up) they just curl to the side and don't keep the height that I want them to have.

Here is a picture from a couple days ago, this is what I'm talking about:


(I'm aware I look very surprised lol)
I feel like I can't control my hair. Like it's just these fine bristles that stick out everywhere and make a mess of themselves!
If you have any questions that you need answered about my hair I'll answer, I'm just curious how I can go from that to something like this: