)
It is what it is. Sometimes you can make it to a convention, sometimes they're too expensive or too far away. Sometimes you have to make your own convention, but that usually works out better when you're in school because more people = more easy.
Also small conventions can be OH MY GOD stressful, because everyone knows everyone and you're always on. If there's two thousand people at the convention, you can chill between shifts and hang out. But if there's only 200 people at the convention, then odds are if something needs to be done there's only a handful of people available so you gotta do it.
So, small conventions and large conventions each have their own levels of stress and challenge.