Hey! I was in the same boat recently. I went to literally just one speech therapy session and it changed everything for me. The therapist I went to (Vivian Sisskin, read her method or listen to her podcast interviews) emphasizes self-acceptance and self-disclosure (telling people you stutter). That + meeting a bunch of very successful (including one prominent businessman and a very very prominent politician) made me realize and actually believe that stuttering is not a bad thing. Since then, I literally tell people (including girls) that I stutter. Even if I'm at a bar talking to a girl I don't know I'll let her know I stutter, usually in a joking way. This self-disclosure has opened up a bunch of opportunities to me. I talked for an hour with the CEO of the company I work at because he also has a stutter. A year ago I would've tried to hide it and would have never had that chance. I was also surprised to hear that some of my close friends also stuttered and I just never noticed. Recently I met a girl I love a lot and it has never occurred to me that my stutter might be a problem in our relationship. This is my first real relationship. She knows I stutter and doesn't care at all, she even said she admires how I'm so outgoing despite my stutter. I think at a certain point you have to stop caring and just live your life to the fullest, because you really only have one go at it. I'm not sure how old are you but when you get to my age (21), I highly doubt anyone will make fun of you. I haven't had anyone mock me even on the days when my fluency is terrible. High school might be kind of hard though so just hang in there. Outside the context with stuttering, my advice to people who want to be more outgoing is to work on yourself first. Get hobbies, pursue your goals, work out, read more etc. This helps build confidence and as a plus makes you more interesting to girls and people overall. If you have any questions please PM me! Or post it here in the comments in case others find it helpful. I don't go on this sub often but there's nothing I like more than helping fellow stutters. A few years ago, my stutter made me really depressed and socially anxious. Getting out of that mindset was a great feeling and if I could contribute even a bit to giving others the same feeling, it would make me really happy.