I was a very awkward kid. Mullet (thanks mom), crooked glasses, shy, and kinda poor so I never had the "cool" clothes or toys and thus never had many friends. Plus my family moved around often. But that forced me to rely on myself. I learned how to play several different instruments, and took up baseball, hockey, basketball, and soccer...Also started working at a young age. So, anytime I went to a new city, I always found new friends because of my various talents and my motivation to go to work. And yes, girls seemed to gravitate toward me at this point as well. I didn't realize many of them wanted to be my girlfriend, so they stayed in the friend zone mostly. Can't tell you how many times I was told "I thought you were SO hot back in high school!" It was lost on me because I was so accustomed to not having a girlfriend as a kid. Being successful in developing those skills gave me a lot of inner confidence, and it definitely reflected in my outward appearance and social status. Talent goes a long way, especially when you're ambitious as well. Each of those activities provided me with different opportunities socially, so I was never short on acquaintances and always around all different kinds of people. Made a lot of friends quite easily as I got older. After high school, instead of going to college I got into carpentry, started a side business, became a bartender, and continued to play music and sports on a regular basis. At the end of the day, I'm the same person I was way back when I was an awkward kid...but the key difference between then and now is my confidence. So, I guess the short answer is, nothing really changed because of my appearance, my appearance changed because of my recreational activities. If you're an "ugly duckling", then cultivate your skills and personality because that will define who you become later in life much more than your looks ever will.