I had been in super small private schools (think 20-30 kids for the whole school from kindergarten all the way to senior year of high school) for a long time before returning to public school my junior year of high school. I hadn't really learned many social skills and so I had developed a fear of social interaction (basically social anxiety). I would always take a book to school to read during lunch because I didn't talk to people and I remember this one girl who knew me from class would come by and ask me how I was doing. She did it maybe 5 or 6 times before she stopped because I didn't really say much back but I always really appreciated her effort.

There were a few other people like that at my high school that made attempts to include me in things despite my own attempts to avoid social interaction. I really should have been a prime target for bullying. Still convinced my school had one of the nicest student bodies of any high school in the state.