How should I make friends in a new school when I was ignored and bullied in my old one and I'm too scared and shy?

Hello and welcome to Fluther.
What are your interests? You could join a group that you are interested in. A sports group, a math group, a reading group, the debating team, etc. If your school has a yearbook or newspaper you could join that and by doing interviews or taking pictures you can break the ice and form friendships.
Good luck!

You can try to make online friends on different sites like Fluther.

I was in the same situation in school. I figured out it was all about how I acted. I determined to be a positive version of myself. And even though I didn’t feel self confident, I acted as if I was. I smiled a lot and held my head high. It helped. You don’t need to be the life of the party, but it helps to have one or two friends.

I didn’t realize you’re from another culture. You’re going to need the help from the school counselor and maybe a few teachers to help with the bullying problem and with understanding the culture in your community and school.

Is English a second language for you?

Which country are you from?

I lived in Shanghai for a while, and English is my first language, since my dad is Australian and my mom is from Beijing, but she knew English too. We moved to the US for my parent’s job, and now I’m just stressed because of people making fun of me.

If that’s so, then my advice holds true.

Imagine driving a car if you only looked into the rear view window to look where you’re going! That’s what it’s like to project the way things have gone in the past as if that’s how the future will be!

These are new people. It’s a new school, and a different culture. Change your behavior and act like you want to be, and you will have a much better chance of success.

And do talk to your school counselor and teachers. Get them on board. They want you to succeed too.

I bet you are not the only one. There must be some other kids that happen to be in the same situation as yours in your class. People that are mutually oppressed tend to band up together. You will eventually find people like that.

Even if there’s no one like that in your class you should eventually learn to become independent, you don’t need other people to excel at school. You are there to study the subject, after you got home you can do whatever you like that will entertain you. Join internet forums, play video games, or do other activites after you got home. You go to school for a purpose, and your real life start at home. The drawback is that you might be seen as anti-social at school but who cares about that? If they don’t care about you then why should you even care about them?

I totally disagree with those who say find friends on the internet or play video games at home. This is a time in your life (as are all times) when you need real life friends and it behooves you to learn how to make them. I think @chyna‘s advice is the best. Find a club or two that interest you and go to the their meetings. You are likely to find a few other people in that smaller interest group whom you can get to know. Do try to be friendly and approachable but maybe also look around for some of the other quieter kids who might be looking for friends too. Is there someone who wants to study with you?

Perhaps there is an Asian-American club you could join or a foreign language club? I would imagine there are some kids who would be interested in knowing about your unusual background – Australia is often seen as pretty hip.

I know some of this sounds like cheerleading and I understand it’s not easy but learning how to make friends is important. And you don’t have to be popular but one or two close friends makes life so much happier. Good luck!

Wow. Your question takes me back over forty years.

My parents moved several times. Each school was different. The kids were different. The teachers were different. The architecture was different. The activities were different. The after school hang outs were different.
The one thing you can’t avoid doing is comparing them.
You must not allow anyone to know they are being mentally sized up against your past schools. It makes them feel defensive.
I once lived in a town where nobody, kids or their parents, wanted any new people. They all liked knowing the family histories of each other. They wanted no new blood. I had friends, but even that felt temporary and superficial.

Moving a lot is tiresome. It gets harder and harder to want to make new friends.
You don’t actually have to make new friends. It all depends on what you want for yourself.
If you do want to have new friends, find out what makes this new place tick. What are kids doing after school?
There are good and bad choices in every place you go. Do try to stick with the good choices.
If you would rather not have temporary friends, find out if there is any sort of job or volunteer position that might work for you.

I know it is tough. I know you feel like your parents don’t care, but often parents just seem like they don’t care, because they just don’t have the answers their kids are looking for.