I say this because HS is largely about social proof, and if you don't establish yourself in middle school/freshman year then you typically will have a hard time getting "in" with anyone and thus hurting your chances with women, regardless of how good you are at conversation/attractive/funny etc. even if you embody many of those things women never seem to come as easy as they could.

A large part of that I think is that HS is a closed system. If you want the hottest girls at school, your only real shot is to have one of the highest SMVs in the school, which is pretty unreasonable to ask of most guys, that is after all the definition of average.

I am in my senior year of highschool, I've taken up lifting, I dress better and I have gotten better at talking to girls and making them laugh, and not come off as super needy etc. but I feel like many of them have a mental image of me already that is pretty beta. Not to mention a lot of it is in my own head after suffering from repeated onset oneitis for a few years, I limited my options with girls for a long time because I would get addicted to their attention.

My question is: If you were in a situation similar to mine, not the lowest smv but definitely not drowning in women. Then you began to apply yourself, did you begin to see a change in the following years with your confidence/SMV etc? I already have a lot better confidence with women and getting into new things in general, but I feel like I am mentally holding myself back, and the reality of my situation of my place in my peers eyes (which isn't an uncommon one) doesn't help either.

TL;DR: Around college years did you feel like women were more accesable to you than they were in HS, whether it be due to logistics itself (having own place, old enough to go out, no parents/ having an income etc.) or your own improvements (or even the girls changing their tastes/attitudes, HS girls get really weird about something as simple as a kiss in my experience. It seems like they get a little less wound up about those things) Very long post I know, but I feel like many people my age get locked into this cycle and can feel discouraged sometimes because to us it seems really "easy" so to speak when some of you guys do it. Thanks for taking the time to reply if you do.