Anxious about my next school year

Ever since I was little, I've always been a loner. I never really talked to people, and as I grew older, in the middle school years, I started to be afraid of being judged. People always called me quiet and mostly ignored me, and I never made the effort to talk to them because I was too afraid and insecure of myself, and I guess I just felt it was better to let things stay the way they were, because I was too scared to change things and make things better. I felt that everyone judged me as a quiet smart stereotype, so I was always afraid to be myself, and plus my face gets red really easily whenever I speak. I guess I've also been afraid of being rejected as a friend, because I'm afraid they will see me for something I am not, or leave me, because I've had many friends in the past who I felt close with, but we drifted away because I never got close enough with them to stay good friends.
I regret not talking to people when I was younger, because I would've been used to talking to people today if I had got used to it back then. :/ (I never grew up with a lot of people to talk to, just my intermediate family, mostly just talked with my sister at home.) But anyways, I think all this is pretty much why I am how I am today. I'm in high school, and I get anxious around strangers, and I'm really nervous about thinking about making friends and meeting acquaintances + new people in the new school year, which starts in a few weeks. I'm also anxious about meeting the people I used to know, and that they will judge me as that quiet serious person I probably seemed like. I guess this was all just a vent about my anxieties. I still feel anxiety around strangers, and find it difficult to bring myself to talk with others, and to respond to others, but I hope this school year will go well, and that I will make improvements in myself!

——I was just like you, maybe I still am. You can put yrself out there a bit more as small experiments. Find like minded students thru school activities. Past high
school the bigger world has more chances to meet people with a less intense spotlight on you. High schools are notorious for making students feel like outsiders. Ignore that. Do not buy into that. Find people that appreciate you
And continue to do that in yr adult life. Seek out the right people, don’t let the wrong ones eat u up. Developing yr interests will help u meet people, avoid the wrong ones and keep yr focus from being too narrow. Social media and support groups can be so great for us introverted types. Keep trying!

Aw thank you for the advice! Its really hard to do that, when I'm so used to being quiet and all, but I'll still remember what you said. I'll try my best to be a better person, thanks again.