Don't judge your life by high school standards. I'm a high school teacher (with a moderate-to-severe stutter), and one of my canned PSAs goes something along the lines of "high school is not the best years of your life." That said, here's a couple of things you can do that might make your life a little better. 1. You probably have more energy and free time at this point in your life than any other time. Spend some of it exploring and developing your creative interests*. Become a great artist. Play the shit out of that trombone. Write short stories. Get really good at magic tricks. Whatever it is that makes you happy, put in some time and develop those abilities. *Note that I said "creative" interests. While there's nothing wrong with playing a lot of video games or watching a lot of TV, do you have interests where you produce a product instead of just consuming it? Maybe a love of video games translates into learning how to program and make video games.... 2. Develop a habit of facing challenges, especially in the realm of your speech. This is how you begin to live a life where your speech doesn't completely rule your life. For example, the phone is a big challenge for me. Every so often, I'll call a random pizza joint (for example) and ask about their specials. Sometimes it goes great. Sometimes I crash and burn. That actually doesn't matter. What matters is that when I look at myself in the mirror, I see someone who faces challenges instead of running from them. 3. Give yourself a gold star for your successes. Give yourself a gold star for your attempts, even if they were flops. We're always our own worst critics, and (while everyone is different), I've found that confidence has a huge impact on the quality of my speech. If I'm in a bad mental space, my speech is terrible. 4. Don't be discouraged by your peers giggling when you talk (especially if you've developed a reputation for not talking). For the majority of them, it's just nerves. They're uncomfortable. They don't know how to react, and that stressful. Laughter is just a coping mechanism. I start every school year telling my students about my stutter, and how they should react to it (ie. just wait.. I'll eventually say the word). Even then, I get a few nervous giggles at first, but it eventually goes away. After a couple months, most students don't even notice it. Now, we're in different positions, but the idea is the same. Realize that for most of those kids, it's just nerves. Push on. If someone asks you how they should react (or you have the opportunity), take advantage of it. You'll find that what's a huge deal on day 1 is not a big deal by Christmas.