Not really sure I have any useful advice on the matter, except the following observation.
When seeking to make a changes, it's all about set and setting.
What is your primary set? This would be, where you live, where you go to school, where you work, where you spend leisure time, stomping grounds etc...
The setting is your state of mind, and the overall feel of your surroundings.
Unfortunately a lot of these things often can't be changed. If you can't change where you live, you then have to focus on what you can change, in your mind, to best deal with that. If you can't change your social setting, etc...
All of this goes a million times easier saying, than doing. However, it seems to ring true.
What you can do is change your physical appearance, this will change how you see yourself and by contrast, allow you to change the setting of the sets/environments you frequent.
You can work out, also another way to change how you perceive yourself and how others do.
You can study 'the self', as in going to the library and persuing subjects of interest as they pertain to improving your knowledge of the greater world at large around you.
You can seek out new sets/settings that are new. This will allow you to get a break from negative encironments and possibly bring back new treasures (either physical or metaphysical) to improve the one's you can't leave.
And for all the things you can't change, that you would like to, you can set goals, both short term and long term to start fixing what is broken.
Again I say all of this, with ease, but struggle to do these thigns myself in practice, however, it is the practice that makes perfect.
And quite honestly, I haven't had a lot of experience being pushed around in my developing years. However, I will admit to being rather cruel to a particular individual in the 5th grade, to the point he actually left the school. I was very fortunate to get in touch with him again some years later, and apologized. He was very understanding and even offered to hang out in the future some time. He was doing rather well, and did not in anyway bring himself down to my level or hold any grudges. And I'd be willing to bet he's doing far better in life as far as 'social status' is concerned than I am, if I wanted to make a competition out of it. So all in all I guess he was fortunate enough to find a better environment, and started thriving, but I can only guess, I don't know his experience, just my own.
As far as being an outcast or in the fringes goes, it can be very liberating, but lonely, and at times dispairing or frustrating. I've just followed the echoes of those that have gone before me and done my best to keep faith and hope. Meeting new people, though, not sure. You have to get out there, I know that much. Can't meet some one new unless they are new people around you. I struggle with this, as I'm sure a lot of people here do.
Good luck!
