As an introvert, conventions terrify me. Well, to be more specific, as an autistic person with severe social anxiety, conventions terrify me. At least, they did, and I will be giving you a series of anecdotal stories to help you survive and thrive at a convention. They are a lot of fun and I hope that you find yourself wanting to go to one sometime soon!
To give some background, the convention that I went to was Zenkaikon, which is an anime convention in Lancaster city at the Marriott and Holiday Inn in downtown Lancaster. Around 20 years ago, Zenkaikon started as a convention and while I have attended four, I find that this rich history lends itself to Zenkaikon very well. Zenkaikon this year was a ton of fun. I spent a good bit of time at the arcade and played a lot of fighting games. Good games to all of those that I played against! I also spent a good chunk of time at the manga library and found some great new mangas that I am going to continue reading. I did not spend a lot of time in the showroom, but that is due to my absolutely paralyzing fear of crowds. I had a great time though and highly recommend this convention for all anime and manga fans. Shout out to Evan Farbo of FarboCo as well. Your stand was great as usual and having Midnight Oil as a base of operations was really helpful to me.
To prepare for a con, I use a couple tricks. These usually work well for me and lend themselves to me having a good time.
First, know the layout of where you’re going. Even if it is just as a map or a walkthrough the first day, establish an understanding of the con and its layout. Knowing quiet spots and places to rest and relax is a huge boon to going to a con. Cons can be overstimulating and you may get overwhelmed by those feelings, but do not let that discourage you. Find a nice and quiet spot and take time for yourself. I swear that this will help and you can get back out there and enjoy yourself!
My next piece of advice is to have a plan. Even a loose one will give you some structure that I find is required to really enjoy the convention. Plan your day to maximize your fun.
Thirdly, and probably my biggest piece of advice , is to have a safe spot that you can retreat to if necessary. That place for me was a local spot called the Midnight Oil which was really close to the Marriott that hosted Zenkaikon.
I think these three pieces of advice are what helped me get through the convention well. They are there to have fun and there is no reason to get anxious about them. Make a plan, know the layout and have a place to rest and relax and I know that you can conquer any convention.
