How to Have Fun Being an Outcast in High School

Change your attitude. Yes, you're an outcast. Does that need to affect everything you do or say? A negative attitude will only drive others away from you, isolating you and just making you more of an outcast! Even though it can be hard, do your best to be positive and kind. You may end up making friends that way - and even if you don't, you'll be more likable than someone who's rude and arrogant.

• Keep in mind that the energy you put out affects who approaches you. Someone who scowls all day, is sarcastic and snarky, and is generally negative will attract more negative people than someone who does their best to have a smile on their face and be positive.
• It's okay to have bad days, but do your best to not be a complete rage-filled monster on those days. There's a difference between glaring at someone who bumped into you in the halls, and screaming at them.

Be friendly towards others. Even if it doesn't get you anywhere in terms of your social ranking, being friendly is important. By smiling and waving at people, and showing receptiveness to others being friendly to you, you open yourself up to potentially making friends and showing others that you're comfortable in your own skin. And even if you're friendly to people treating you poorly, who knows? Maybe you'll even get them to stop being rude to you!

• Be friendly towards your teachers, too! Even if you don't like them, it's best to be polite. Remember, they're your teachers, so if you get on their bad side and then get in trouble, they're not likely to back you up, even if they know you're in the right.

Keep up your grades. Homework's not fun, but school will be a whole lot less fun if you fail all your classes and have to repeat them. Do your best to get good grades (or improve them, if they're low), and get extra help in class when you need it. If you have good grades, that's one less thing that can prevent you from having fun as an outcast.

• If being an outcast is causing you problems with your grades - for example, nobody will pair up with you for group work and it's affecting your grade - talk to your teacher and find a solution to the problem. Many times, teachers are willing to make accommodations for students who are doing their best.

Find people who are like you. Being an outcast isn't the end of the world, but at the same time, it's nice to have people to spend time with. If being an outcast is disappointing to you, then consider trying to find other outcasts to spend your time with. Even if you don't think you're like them, or you're disgusted at the thought of spending time with outcasts, consider that they might actually turn out to be great friends of yours and that you won't need to spend all your time at school alone.

• Strike up conversations with your classmates. Search for those with similar interests and mindsets.
• Try talking to the quieter kids or the kids that you wouldn't expect yourself to hang out with. Oftentimes, the people you don't expect to find yourself friends with turn out to be better people than you anticipated.
• Be cautious with certain crowds. While you're free to spend time with whoever you want to, you should be feeling happy with your friends, not on-edge or lousy. If your "friends" put you down, leave them. It's better to be alone than to have people around who don't appreciate you for who you are. (And, obviously, your friends should never pressure you to do anything illegal or that you're not comfortable with.)
• It's okay to prefer being alone. Many introverts prefer to be alone.

Ignore people who mock or bully you. Yes, you've been told it time and time again, but if you're getting bullied, the best thing to do is to ignore them. Bullies just want to get a reaction out of you and see that they're making you miserable, and remember, they don't truly understand you - even if you thought they did. (If they understood you, why would they be trying to upset you?) Tune them out, go somewhere else, and just prove to them - and to yourself, too - that they won't get a reaction out of you.

• That being said, you don't have to suffer if someone is being cruel or abusive. If this person won't stop bothering you, talk to an adult and figure out a solution. If the adult doesn't listen or care, go to more adults until somebody actually helps you. Just because you're an outcast doesn't mean you have to put up with people treating you poorly.

Find extracurricular activities. School doesn't have to be entirely boring, no matter whether it's during breaks or after classes - and extracurriculars can be a great place to find friends, too, if you want them. Check out your school's list of clubs or extracurricular options, or ask your school counselor if they know of anything you could have a look at. And if all else fails, try looking to see if you can start your own club at school - you may well bring people together with it!

• Join a club that sounds interesting to you. It doesn't matter what that club is - just check it out, see if it's interesting, and if it is, join.
• Sports teams are a common choice for high schoolers, but you can also check out things like robotics teams and community service teams.

Don't force yourself to be a certain way. Your teenage years are hectic and ever-changing, so why spend them trying to be anything but a better person than you used to be? Trying to shove yourself into a narrow, confined "personality box" and act or look a certain way won't get you anywhere, nor will faking friendships or happiness. Why would you want to spend your high school years in a personality that doesn't fit you? Your personality and interests grow and shape on their own; trying to force them to grow in a certain direction won't do anything except make you miserable when it doesn't work the way you want it to.

• Attempting to fit in with popular kids won't do much, especially if you used to be one of them but aren't popular now. This will most likely just subject you to ridicule.
• Spend time doing things and hanging out with people that you actually like, not people you pretend to like. There's nothing worse than doing something you don't like just because you're worried about what your peers will think about you.

Remember to study. Even if you're an outcast, it's important to keep your grades up. Your grades do have an influence on not only what you do in the future, but on your work ethic, as well. Developing a strong work ethic and learning how to manage your work and prioritize it will be important later on in life - or even now, if you end up getting a job as a teen.

• Make studying fun, if you have trouble with it. There's no law dictating that studying needs to be boring.
• Study in a way that suits you best. If you learn best by reading from the textbook, then do that. If you learn best by creating study guides, do that. As long as you can remember the information, it doesn't matter the method you used to remember it.

Engage in activities that you enjoy. Chances are, you already have some hobbies that you like to do, even if they're not your absolute favorite things or things that you're very talented at. You can try using these enjoyable activities as rewards for when you finish something or try something new, to develop a sense of self-discipline. It's important to make sure that you're not just boring yourself throughout your high school years!

Try learning something new. Whether it's driving, baking, biotechnology, music synthesizing, or anything else that you find an interest in, finding something to learn about can give you a new hobby or skill that you can choose to pursue. Who knows what you'll end up doing and/or enjoying in the future? If you use your high school years to experiment around with new things, you might even find your passion.

Spend time with your family. Yeah, it's probably not what you want to do, but the vast majority of the time, your family would be happy to spend their time with you. Chat with your parents at the dinner table, spend some time with your older sister, hang out with your younger brother, and make sure they know that you love them. The bond with your family is one of the most important ones you have.

• Not all teens live in the best family situations. If your family is abusive or dysfunctional, it may not be the best choice to try and be close with family members who do harmful things. In severe cases, know when to report child abuse.

Hang out with your friends. You don't need to spend your whole high school life alone, especially during times when you're not even in school. If you don't have friends, then try looking online for meetup groups or events that you can attend that would target people in your age group. There's no need to be alone if you don't want to be alone.

• It's okay if the only friends you have are online. You can still spend time with them - whether it's by emailing, using social media, instant messaging, or talking with them over voice calls or video chats.

Consider volunteering. Many people describe volunteering as a wonderful experience that changes you as a person. While it might not drastically change your life, volunteering can give you a new perspective on things - and failing that, it gives you community service hours and something to do that makes you feel better about helping others. Search online for volunteer opportunities, or ask your school if they know of any opportunities for you.

• Volunteering doesn't have to happen outside of the home. There are many organizations that allow you to volunteer online.

Look for jobs or internships, if you're interested. Not all teens can or choose to work, but some teens decide to gain work experience, and maybe earn some money. Try looking through your school for job openings or internships, or looking online and seeing what jobs are being offered to teens. Just be aware that working a job or internship is a big responsibility, so you'll need to be prepared for that if you choose to work.

• It's completely okay to not want to get a job. Not all teens want to (or can) work, especially considering that they already have school and studying, as well as other things that take up time in their lives.
• If your state requires it, make sure that you receive a work permit from your school before trying to get a job, or you may not be able to work.
• Try to pick a job that you'd enjoy more than you dislike. If you're not a very social person, then it wouldn't be a good idea to take a job that involves constant interaction with people. As a teen, your options are limited, and nobody is going to enjoy all parts of their job, but unless you absolutely have to, don't take a job just because it's the only job you can find.