That's a familiar story. High school was a total nightmare for me. I was mute in class as well. I also didn't do any of the classwork, so I had some teachers assume I was mentally challenged and they placed me into basic classes. Without fail those teachers were always shocked when they saw how I wrote and they questioned the system that placed me there. I would spend each and every day terrified that I would be called on. Teachers didn't acknowledge my issue. Except for one, who would give me reading assignments to read to the class. I'd get stuck and the rest of the class would assume I couldn't read. Those were the days that I wished I could crawl into myself and just die. The only class where I wasn't a total emotional wreck was band. I participated in some therapy at school, but it was always in the middle of the library with other kids staring at me while I went through the exercises. I was always worried that I would be homeless or I'd never leave my parents house due to never being able to get a job. Something changed in me and I decided to not let it rule my life. I decided to not let it stop me. I decided to challenge the people who wanted to laugh at how I speak. It hasn't gone away and some days are easier than others but it doesn't stop me at all. I work with military personnel on a daily basis in a capacity that requires a good deal of technical explanation, both in person and on the phone. It hasn't really affected my dating life. If someone loses interest because of my stutter then that's someone I didn't want in my life anyway. If I could go back to HS (I wouldn't!) but if I did I'd go after everything with a totally different attitude. You stutter. So what. That's you. Everybody has obstacles in their lives. That's yours. If somebody wants to laugh at you about it look them in the eye and wait for them to finish. Maybe I look intimidating, I don't know, but that always turns people beet red and they STFU right away. Sometimes I have to respond verbally and I turn into Joe Pesci, but that's pretty rare. Somebody on here made a post about speaking from the base of their throat. I've been trying to make that my default voice for years now. It's almost like a Christian Bale Batman voice, unfortunately, but people seem to like it. It works for me, it almost eliminates my stutter. I work on it daily. Good luck out there. Just remember that you're not alone in this.