ive met some wonderful people by just showing up to an event of some kind by myself and simply approaching people. a lot of the time you dont even need to approach someone because something happens nearby that you both can bond over. i. e. i met a very kind couple at a concert bc some guy next to me was being weird and rowdy, and they stepped in to shield me! how nice! and we still keep up with eachother.
obviously, you have to keep your wits about you and make sure someone you do know knows where you are, but really what im getting at is this:
simply by being around people, you will meet people. just have fun with it and be bold, and when you DO meet people, you have to keep up the effort in following up a couple times to keep the conversation flowing. 🦋