So I have been live-booting my Dell computer from a flash drive and it keeps resetting every time I put it in again. So my question is: How do I start it so that it keeps my changes instead of resetting every time; and is there a way to do this?
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The only operating system I know that can support persistent storage is Tails. Otherwise, every other operating system on a USB drive has ephemeral configuration. One way to deal with this issue is to create your own operating system image.
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Of course. That is intentional. It makes Live Boot a good tool to use when things go pear-shaped precisely because you are getting a known good state!
In that respect, if you are going to do Live Boot with Persistence, then I would make two flash drives, one that it Live Boot without Persistence (i.e. normal) and one with.
You need to consider carefully what it is that is “resetting” and whether it is even possible to override this (see later) and whether it is wise to do so.
My recollection (disclaimers apply) is that Ubuntu’s Startup Disk Creator used to give the option for persistence but that option seems to have disappeared.
Before ploughing on, you may consider whether the correct approach is not Live Boot with Persistence, but instead to use a Live Boot to install to a flash drive. (Typically this only works if you can get two flash drives on your device at the same time for the duration of the install process, which may or may not be a problem i.e. is hardware dependent and would depend on the details of “Dell computer” but is unlikely to be a constraint on a desktop or laptop.)
In that scenario (a full normal install to a flash drive), there are no restrictions. It’s just a normal Ubuntu boot and you can do everything that you would normally do. Everything always persists.
However, depending on your usage scenario, a portable drive may give a better result than a flash drive. There are trade-offs.
You also need to consider whether your persistence needs can be met just by storing some files somewhere else on the computer.
If you really do want Live Boot with Persistence then try this tutorial: https://www.howtogeek.com/14912/create-a-persistent-bootable-ubuntu-usb-flash-drive/ but it’s not something that I personally do (any more) and note the restrictions about what changes can be persisted and what changes cannot be persisted.
I think with Tails, persistent storage is non-default. Tails intentionally persists nothing. So you need to ask for persistent storage. However for some (high threat) Tails usage, it would be risky to use this option.
If you choose to have persistent storage then it is encrypted by default (which differs from what is being discussed above - but probably does raise a good issue for @ASwyD2 to consider i.e. what the encryption requirements are and whether they can be met with either approach).
I am not sure that it is the same as the persistent storage being offered by “Live Boot with Persistence”. In other words, there is a difference between “Live Boot with Persistence” and “Live Boot with some Storage on the Side”. It has been a while since I booted Tails.
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Ok thank you, that is what I wanted to know. 
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I do not have experience with it.