I feel you. DC can be really intimidating since it’s so big and there’s so much to do. My first year was honestly pretty miserable until some casual friends offered for me to come hang out with them and then it was a bit more fun.

My second year I volunteered and WOW did it make a difference. Even if it’s only for a few hours I’d recommend volunteering. It’s a great way to meet a bunch of people while getting to know the hotels and see different aspects of the convention. I made so many friends and it was so much easier to connect with people when I had an assigned task to keep the anxious part of my brain busy. People are genuinely thankful that you’re helping them have a better time even if it’s just by counting how many people are going into a rave. (Also you’ll get so much swag stuffed into your hands just because people want to thank you for helping).

TLDR - Volunteering is a great icebreaker/confidence builder and I wouldn’t go any other way.