First, let me encourage you by saying that your voice will change eventually. Everyone matures at different rates. I know you’ve probably heard that a lot. My big (literally) brother, was fat and average height with a girlish voice until he was a Senior when he grew to 6’2” and suddenly got cute and a deep voice.

Second, I agree with the other poster – if you can be brave enough to joke about your own voice, it will take the wind out of their sails. Pretend you feel okay about it, and they will believe you. (this works for me. I pretended I am a confident teacher, and eventually I felt that way. I think of it like acting.) Maybe you can introduce yourself, like, “Hi, I’m Joe, and I had too much helium this morning” or “Hi, I’m Joe and I traded voices with my little brother today” and get them to laugh. If you don’t feel you can do that, maybe try to get changed to a mixed class with people who are less intimidating to you.

Bottom line is there will always be others who find something they dislike or try to bring you down, but the best defense is to grow to like yourself and not be swayed by what those people think. People like that don’t have the capacity to sympathize with others or show compassion, but you are better than that. God bless you, and I hope you do a great job on the speech.

You are probably just a late bloomer, and your voice will drop in time, but if you use my method make sure you have some throat lozenges handy. And you shouldn’t worry so much about what other people think. You are who you are.