Advice on overcoming a fear of meeting new people?

I have been very quiet in classrooms for the past 5 years in school, this is my 3rd year in college. i want to change that but i've been traumatize on confronting new people since high school. I had a crush on a girl since 6th grade and i keep doing wierd things to her like writing to her and putting in her mailbox but i didn't know her (never spoke to her in person, only like once or twice) then i was attracted to her, i knew her house address because my friend told me that is where she live (she really did live there). so let's fast forward this, so in high school, i wrote like a blog where i ';fell'; in love with her and i kept asking her to go somewhere so i can ask her out, but i never did ask her out in high school and she went to that place. i never asked her out because i knew she didn't like me but i had ';loved'; her. not sure why though but oh well. so right now, i am traumatize on speaking to new people. how can i overcome my fear of introducing myself to new people in my college? I'm that scared that i won't even introduce myself to classmate in the same class before the class starts. However, i wouldn't mind talking to them if the teacher allows us to talk to each other (like during classtime, like teacher said ';get to know your neighbor';). I want to become more open. How can I find enough confidence to meet new people?Advice on overcoming a fear of meeting new people?
well, i wasn't that freaky, but i had the same thing.





what i did, was get a job that forced me to interact with people. i worked at an outdoor concert hall and people would come up and talk to me all the time. so i learned what to say and when to say it.Advice on overcoming a fear of meeting new people?
Listen to them, what they are telling you, what they problems are. If you can understand them, you'll feel more confident. It won't be easy at the beginning.. it is training. I'm also doing the same thing.