Getting "nervous" around people

Are you on the AS?

Not sure if nervous is the right word, but often when I'm walking on my own to college and I see a group of other people I get really nervous. My eye starts to water (not sure why ) and I look straight ahead with no emotion on my face. Sometimes when I see somebody from my class that I've never spoken to at the bus stop I ignore them, even though I want to talk to them, I'm just too nervous to start a conversation and wouldn't know what to talk about.

I'm in my second year at college now and because of this nervousness I have, I've never really made any new friends and am normally on my own for lunch. The only friends I have are this small group of about 5 guys that went to my secondary school. And they aren't really close friends, just more like people I hang around with. In class I just sit by myself without talking to anybody (unless the teacher makes us by putting us in groups).

When I think about it, I'm a pretty boring person. I don't have any hobbies and most of the time I'm on my computer. I don't like or watch any sports but I have joined my gym to get fitter. This is going pretty well for me so far and I have started to build some muscle. I've noticed a few girls looking at me afterwards when I go to the sauna but I never am brave enough to speak to them.

This situation is making me kind of depressed and I'm desperate for things to change. I need to get some friends my age but I'm not planning on going to university next year, so this will give me almost no opportunities to meet people my age.

Does anybody have any techniques to get past this nervousness and start becoming more sociable?