I'm tired of being picked on... How can I gain confidence and friends?

Go make friends with the other kids who have no friends. Sometimes they end up being really cool. Also when you sit by yourself at lunch when finished kick your feet up on the table and hands behind the head to show everyone you just don't give any f's. Keep training hard and make friends with the freshman who come in next year.

Also, talk to the people you sit next to in class.

Lift weights, get big, run faster, grow a beard, hit on girls.

looking back 30 years at high school, what made the difference for me was realizing that I shouldn't want to be friends with the popular kids - it wasn't going to happen and they weren't interested in the same things I was.

Once I got that through my head, I started looking for the interesting oddballs - the smart ones, the artists, the quirky girls.

Point is, quit eyeing the popular kids and join the clubs some interesting people are in.

and also - much of life is show business - you have to act a little. Sure it's a little phony, but try acting like the guy you think you should be instead of showing all your emotions right away.

Act confident and people will respond well.

If this isn't a troll thread, I have only one bit of advice: Obey God. Do that and all of your problems will go away.

Why would you want the praise of your fellow man? These people are worms.

Just beat the sh*t out of the next person that messes with you. It works. No joke. You'll gain all kinds of respect among your fellow students and might even make allies with some other people who hate said bully.

all you really need to do is gorw out your hair and have a moustache

It's.

Keep your eye out for one friend. Forget the crowd.

If you think that you're the only one in your school in your boat, you're way off. There are many kids in your predicament.

But the friend you need may not look like you think he should.

Hell, he may not even be a he - the friend may turn out to be a girl.

Be prepared to reach out to others, as opposed to just waiting for them to come to you. Be prepared to extend an invitation to do something with someone else. If you can find a person who has an interest in something and then offer to attend an event in line with that interest, you'll be off and running.

Whatever you do don't start being a dick to other people because you feel insecure. Stay focused on running and take it seriously but you know still be cool about it and don't get all arrogant. Some of the the athletes from the other teams will admire you for taking your sport seriously and being good at it.

Otherwise just talk to people in class and be chill and non-judgmental. Be open to hanging out with anyone. Also looking at joining some clubs or student council, even in a limited capacity. Do anything you can that will give yourself a break from sitting alone every lunch hour, it's no big deal to sit by yourself sometimes, but it can wear you down after a while.

The confidence thing is huge. If you don't care they won't keep it up. Also, when the guy making fun of your acne says something, loudly ask how long he has been a fatass, embarrass him even more. (side note: even skinny people are aware of their figure so you can call 90% of people "fat" and they will be super embarrassed, which is the idea...beat them at their own game and they will shut up)

"Yea I'll grow out of my acne but you will be ugly your whole life"

"acne? oh yea I guess it sucks, whats it like to be fat and dumb?"

"oh wait you are talking to me? I thought you were just talking to your STDs"

Thanks for all the sincere replies. I do try to be social. I try to talk to people in class... but that's all that happens, and I usually don't talk to them after class or anything.

I don't know. It just feels like I'm in a town where everyone's known each other for forever and I'm this outsider whose not really worth the time of day. Everyone's content with their friend groups, and there aren't any openings right now. I know it doesn't help that my confidence is at an all time low right now (injured for most of track season and having no friends... it's a vicious cycle).

One thing you have going for you is your intelligence. They can't take your smarts away. You are also a decent runner. They can't take that away either. You have more talent than you realize. Use that to train like an animal and make a name for yourself in running. Think about it, you are almost three minutes up on the No. 2 in a 5K. If you get after it and go to state while they sit on the sidelines, you have the opportunity to get your name out there. Keep studying hard and make friends with the interesting looking people. Stay away from people with that cocky attitude (who make fun of you) and don't get tripped up in the drug crowd either.

Agree with much of the advice, especially to join a club--and maybe get involved in some organization outside of school. Think of what interests you have in addition to running, and you're likely to find some club in or outside of school with like minded people. Also, you're new now--but more than likely there will be another newcomer eventually, and you can be the one who welcomes that person.

It's posts like this that remind me of how greatful I am that high school is over. Your story is close to what mine was.

Some thoughts:

You are already nearly halfway finished. I know two years (18 months, excluding summers) seems like a long time now, but when you look back on it you'll see it was hardly anything at all.

Someone mentioned you might just be odd. That may be true (and it's far from the worst thing that can happen). However, this can also result in some people simply not liking you for no good reason. I know it's strange, but trust me, it is not worth beating your head against the wall trying to figure out how to get those people to like you. Just ignore them and be open to other people. If you are generally nice, you should at least make some acquaintences you can chat with before class or eat lunch with.

Not having any friends does carry with it the freedom of being able to do whatever you want to do. You can cultivate any interest you want without having to worry if your friends would think it was cool. Art, physics, computer programming, whatever. Figure out what interests you (besides running) and go do it. Look for clubs that focus on your interest to meet similarly-minded people. Depending on the club/interest, it may be the start of a network that could help a professional career someday. Don't limit yourself to only school clubs either.

Study hard, go to a good college, get a great career, make a ton of money, retire by 40. And always remember that you'll spend far more years out of high school than in it.

Best of luck.

just be yourself, you can't go wrong

yes, answers my question why I quit the harriers!

Sick of it wrote:How can I gain confidence and make friends?

You've come to the right place for confidence building! Just hang around here for awhile and you'll immediately feel better about yourself.

ok, let's get specific.

What are you interested in, besides running? reading? music? art? sports? What's your favorite book? Favorite movie?

agip wrote:

ok, let's get specific.

What are you interested in, besides running? reading? music? art? sports? What's your favorite book? Favorite movie?

We have NOTHING in common, that I assure you.