Do You Struggle With Making Friends The Mainstream Way?

Do You Struggle With Making Friends The Mainstream Way? By mainstream way I mean the way which most people make friends - In the classroom or in the office, studio, or whatever. Most people will make friends in their main area of operation (the place they go to daily and spend the most amount of time). If you're a student, this would be a classroom. And if you're an adult, this would be your office or a studio (depending on what kind of work you do). I've always struggled to make friends the mainstream way. Because I feel very tense and uncomfortable in situations where you are in a room with lots of people (especially when you don't have a personal relationship with those people) It's like a fierce competition. You become tense, afraid and your stutter prevents you from talking openly like everyone else. I just can't operate confidently in situations like that. So for as long as I can remember, all of the friends I've made have mostly come from alternative sources. When I was in school, most of my friends would be from other grades (usually a grade lower than me. But sometimes seniors too). It would never be people in my own grade. And I'd usually meet those people in alternative areas like extra curricular hobby clubs or in the bus.....never in my classroom because that's where I completely shut down and keep to myself. And then even in university, I wouldn't interact much with people in my own course. I'd mingle in other alternative places like the gym or with students from other courses. Does anyone else have this problem? I feel like the major blockade of this problem is the stutter. If I didn't have a stutter, I would just force myself to make friends the mainstream way. Because then it wouldn't even matter if I was comfortable or not.....you just have to talk. But because I'm so uncomfortable, I cannot talk. Has anyone gotten over this?