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Today, many people look back at their years in high school with pleasant nostalgia; they look back at the friends they made, the time they spent together, and all kinds of activities they took part in. However, that is not the universal high school experience, as for some people, it was a time spent mostly keeping to themselves.
Whether they loved it or hated it, the lonely kids, too, eventually graduated, leaving high school behind; in some cases, leaving their old ways behind, too. A member of the 'Ask Reddit' community recently got curious about how life turned out for the lonely kids from people's high schools, so they started a thread about it, where quite a few netizens went down memory lane. If you're curious about how life for the lonely kid in their school panned out, continue scrolling to find their stories on the list below.
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#1
Oh my goodness, I’ve got a story for this!
There was a guy in a couple of my electives in secondary school, and I used to sit near him in home ec (he was the only boy). He was *extremely* quiet, very shy, and didn’t really talk to many people, but I used to chat with him before class. It was s**t talk, to tell you the truth, “did you do the homework?” “Are you ready for the exam?” “Is Ms (teacher name) in today?” Sometimes I’d go as far as asking about the weekend, but mostly I asked him really stupid, boring questions.
A few years later, I was in college and this guy had gotten BUFF! He had also gotten really confident in himself and approached me in a bar in a different city. I had to do a double take, I hardly recognised him!
We got to chatting and he told me that I was the only person who ever made an effort to chat with him. He said he was really depressed and shy, and he felt so lonely in secondary school, but he always looked forward to home ec because at least we’d have our little chats there.
Naturally, when he told me this, I burst into tears.
He seems really happy now! I wish I could say we’re married, but no, he’s got a girlfriend and I imagine she’s lovely if she’s anything like him! I still run into him when we go home for holidays and stuff, and our conversations have gotten much more long winded!
cerinamroth 1 month ago
None of us know how a little effort on our part could change someone else's day. This is a lovely story. I was one of those kids too. I still remember with great fondness the other odd kids that I sat next to who actually spoke to me :)
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#2
I had a lonely kid in my fitness class, freshman year of highschool in 2005ish. She was part of the intellectual friend group at my school, and none of her friends were in fitness class, so she would keep to herself every day. I had never spoken to her before, but she seemed approachable so one day I asked her if she liked good charlotte since my best friend and I were obsessed. Turned out she loved good charlotte and all other bands that my friend and I liked! I didn’t stop hanging out with her since that day. She ended up being valedictorian at our high school, graduated college with a full ride, and we’re still best friends, she is my kids god mother and she helps them with math now.
#3
I HAVE A GREAT STORY!!
There was a guy who went to the same elementary, middle, and high school with me. Kids were always making fun of him because he was skinny and deemed "weird" for liking obscure things like math and airplanes. Some of the popular kids claimed he sometimes would smell so he would always sit by himself. Throughout the years, I always made an effort to be kind to him as we were both in band. I played the flute and he played the saxophone. I always thought he was very kind and didn't deserve all the mean comments.
Well fast forward ten years, I'm friends with him on Facebook. Turns out, he got in shape and went to flight school after high school graduation. He became an airline and commercial pilot for a major Airline. I see him posting all the time about spending a weekend in a different country! He literally posted a picture of himself with a couple of buddies in Switzerland last week. Every time I see him post, I get so happy for him.
#4
There was a guy in high school who everyone sort of ignored. he wasn’t bullied exactly, just… **invisible**. he never raised his hand, never joined any clubs, and always sat alone at lunch. i had a few classes with him, and once in a while, i’d partner with him when no one else would. i remember once in chemistry, we ended up talking about video games during a lab experiment. and he lit up talking about it, and it was probably the most i’d ever heard him say in one go. but after that, we mostly just went back to polite head nods in the hallways.
i recently stumbled across his profile on twitter and turns out, the “quiet kid” is now developing indie games with a small team and he’s been doing really well too!
what stuck with me, though, was this one post where he mentioned how just one person acknowledging your presence, even casually, can mean everything when you feel invisible. i can’t be sure if he was talking about me or someone else, but it made me realize how even the tiniest effort to connect with someone might stay with them in ways you never expect.
chickpea me 1 month ago
That’s true. Being nice to people used to be a normal thing. Nowadays it seems rather remarkable.
#5
It was me, a bunch of people started a prank where they were going to tell everyone i was going to bring a gun to school. Everyone believed them, even after I was cleared by the cops and all the evidence came out. The principal told me it was best I didn't come back. It was senior year and I was 19 so no other highschool in the area would admit me to finish my diploma. I became an unemployed depressed drifter for 8 years then joined the Navy. Doing better now but it really threw my life plan out of whack, I was top of my class gradewise, and my clear path to college was destroyed right in front of my eyes and life became much more lonely for until I joined the Navy. Now I have a wife that's way too hot for me and kids that are smart and social butterflies.
#6
He became my boss. To be honest tho, I befriended him in high school and he's been one of my best friends ever since. A smart guy. He went from no self esteem to a team manager in the IT department we work in today. He got me a job. He is making waves and I know people from my class would have their minds blown if they saw him today. We also play in a band together, doing monthly live shows. He turned into a classy extrovert from a total quiet, bullied nerd in high school.
#7
Smoked weed every day at school, failed exams, got a degree, Set up a business and is a multi millionaire.
#8
Right now, I'm sitting in my house in Sri Lanka with my son and husband. Got literally as far away from there as I could.
#9
She moved away & lived in several different countries. got married & divorced. made New York City her home, started college at 54 & now lives happily & quietly with a ginger cat
#10
That's me, I came out and left the church I was raised in, got a girlfriend I love more than anything, and work in a hospital with pediatrics. Life is pretty good and I definitely don't miss sitting alone in the hallway eating lunch.
Dave In MD 1 month ago
Says they came out and got a girlfriend but the picture is of a guy. OP was a woman.
#11
I was the lonely kid. Currently in psych ward.
Kay Woodpecker 1 month ago
Internet Hugs going out to you. Hope everything works out for you :-)
#12
Well, I just googled him and he's a Georgetown law professor.
#14
I’m her, I’m 32 almost, late diagnosed autistic. Vibing but still lonely but with a dog so not entirely.
chickpea me 1 month ago
My late diagnosis was ADHD but other than that you are a younger version of me. I did have trust issues and lacked confidence though at your age but luckily my dogs never did. Now I’m still not an active social busy bee but I have a nice circle of friends and a SO that loves me and my quirks and we both love our new dog. ; )
#15
I'm doing great, thanks for asking. Got published, got married, produced a couple of albums, performed a lot, went around the world, saw Persepolis, bought a house in the country and retired.
#16
I am haunted by that guy. In junior high I walked home with him once. We talked. He was elusive, but kind and attentive. I liked him but, in my 13 year old adhd brain, I never followed up on our budding friendship. He was found hung in a tree on the walk to school. It devastated me to think I could maybe had made a difference.
Later in life I found out about all the abuse he endured from his parents… so heartbreaking.
#17
He’s married with no children.
He works as a economy professor at university and we meet 2-3 times in a year. Good guy.
#18
He met a girl at 16 years old, stayed with her until this very day, they moved to another country (France) they started from the bottom, he got a job as a manual laborer in construction, and she got a cleaning job, fast forward, they both have their own businesses now and a family of 3 kids, 4 dogs and a farmhouse in the countryside.
so thats the fast forwarded version of what happend to the quiet lonely person (me).
#19
I’m in the Army with a job I like, married with two dogs. .
#20
He died in a wrong way crash a few years ago. He was the guy going the wrong way. On a highway he knew for 20 years. A lot of us think it was intentional.
#21
Poured petrol over his brother and his brother girlfriend after an argument whilst they slept and set them alight. Brother and the family dog died, everyone else got out. He'll still be lonely in jail.
#22
During high school he got a job at the video rental counter inside the local grocery store (small town). He eventually got promoted to assistant manager of the video rental area. Then Netflix and streaming in general slowly destroyed his career. Now 20 years later he still works at the same grocery store but they shuffle him around to different areas and not letting him go since he’s been there so long. He still lives with his mother, did not go to any sort of college or trade school or pursued any sort of skill that would benefit him. He has no significant other, no children, no friends. He simply exists in the same state he was in during 2004.
#23
She had a mental breakdown and made a terroristic type threat towards a local festival that draws in thousands of people from all over.
The last I heard she was in a mental hospital.
#24
I am him. 32, moved in japan, have a low paying job but a nice loving girlfriend. I could be worse, could be better.
#25
He's a neurosurgeon now.
UncleJohn3000 1 month ago
He's more than that - he's a psionic neurosurgeon. No knives needed.
#26
She wrote a fantasy book and got it published. Don’t know anything else.
#27
Her parents got a conservatorship of her after keeping her hospitalized repeatedly in high school and tried to put her in the state hospital after years she finally got out of the conservatorship and her mental health was improved away from her family but she was already too medically disabled by that point to really live her life at all.
#28
Decided I needed friends, so I started going to as many parties as I was able, and became surprisingly popular in my town despite my weirdness.
Spent all of my money doing that. But got me connections, a job I enjoy, and it’s so much easier for me to interact with others than it was in my teens and early twenties.
Dumb teenager 1 month ago
How do you get invited to parties if you’re the wierd kid? I have literally never been invited to one, or to any social Gathering with more than 2 other people (unless you count birthday parties in early primary school)
#29
He became a really overweight, but semi-popular newscaster on a popular news show here in Toronto.
#30
The person I always thought of as possibly lonely retained the same couple of friends for the past 13 years and they still seem to enjoy getting together and doing the things they did back then. Video games, anime, etc.
What do you think ?
Brian Droste 1 month ago
I was the lonely kid in high school. Mostly ate my lunch by myself as I recall. I do remember sitting with some other kids at lunch time. That is where I learned how to play Euchre. Never did much with my life as most of these post showed. I am retired now. Worked in factories and warehouses all my life. Never married or had any children. My life may sound boring but am content with it. I do have friends.
Brian Droste 1 month ago
I was the lonely kid in high school. Mostly ate my lunch by myself as I recall. I do remember sitting with some other kids at lunch time. That is where I learned how to play Euchre. Never did much with my life as most of these post showed. I am retired now. Worked in factories and warehouses all my life. Never married or had any children. My life may sound boring but am content with it. I do have friends.
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