I battled with anxiety coming out of my BA and dealt with many of the same concerns about graduate school and my future as you are. These things are actually very common. Don't feel alone!

Despite the many excellent professors and classes I took I feel very unprepared, especially when compared with many of my friends and peers who are quite skilled with research and writing.

Look up "Imposter Syndrome". Even though you may feel like you are unprepared or outclassed by your peers, this is actually something that a lot of your peers probably share as a feeling even if they don't show it in any noticeable way. Trust that the excellent professors you had and classes you took will shine through, because they very likely will.

A lot of people who look to go on to graduate school are odd birds -- it takes a certain kind of person to want to obsessively study a single topic or handful of topics for their entire career -- and so most everyone you encounter in the graduation application process is going to be empathetic with your situation and will certainly have seen many much odder birds than you.

Just remind yourself that your concerns are normal, and that even if it feels like you're inadequate and being irrational, you probably aren't.

For myself however, I find it's hard for me to specify exactly what I'm interested in history especially as I have a tendency to bounce around from subject to subject

Being a generalist is okay. It will be tougher to get through graduate school without having a specific topic of research in mind, yes, but it's certainly not impossible. You might also consider working in the field of Public History, where you can work on a lot of topics. Intern at some museums, see if you can get yourself into internships with the National Park Service, etc. These things can only help even if you do wind up in graduate school. They are great resume and experience builders.

I have not even sat down and thoroughly researched my family history, something most of my former classmates had already done.

This is not a requirement. Try not to negatively compare yourself to your classmates so much. For example, most of your classmates probably haven't come to a public discussion forum filled with professional and/or expert historians looking for advice, and yet you took the proactive step to do that. That's a plus for you!

What should I be doing if I hope to one day become a full fledged historian, or more specifically, what did you find helped you grow in your career and research when you were starting out in the history field? What helped you find what you would like to focus in?

If you want to go the route of Academia or Public History, it is important to understand that the field is competitive, but not impossible, and the key to ultimately finding success is a combination of patience and sacrifice. Cast a wide net. You may not get into a graduate school in the DC area which means you may need to go to graduate school further away. That may require sacrifices in terms of how you live (with roommates? Working a part-time job? Gambling with taking out loans?) The same may be true if you end up doing public history for the NPS. NPS requires a lot of dues-paying and you can/will be reassigned many times over the course of your career.

I think the best advise is to take on a few internships doing different things...work at a museum, work in some archives....assist for a professor in whatever way you can. If you like doing that stuff for free (or little money), that is a good sign you have what it takes to do it for money! And if not, that's cool, because a history degree is a great starting point to become qualified in a lot of other fields.

Good luck and if you have any more specific questions, feel free to private message me anytime.

I don’t know that much about the grad programs in the DC area specifically. Where I went for my MA offered thesis and non thesis options. They expected you to have a thesis topic by the end of the first year if you went that route. Which enables you to take a variety of classes, meet different professors, and find something you like. Professors in grad school are very different than undergrad in my experience. They care a lot more about making sure you succeed and will suggest books on topics you’re interested in to help you find your focus area. The other option is the non thesis option. The way my degree worked was I had three focus fields that I had to take exams on in order to graduate. This option allows you to choose three things you’re interested in and if you choose to later do a PhD you can focus on whatever field you liked the most. Again, you have time once you’re in graduate school to pick these fields. Plus you will learn so much more in grad school that you might discover something new that is much more interesting than what you originally thought you were going to focus on. Applying to graduate school can be a very anxiety inducing experience, but in my own experience everything I learned in graduate school, both in class and in surviving through that life, made it one of the most worth while things I have ever done, especially as someone who like you, was indecisive about their future going in. I highly recommend you start emailing graduate departments and talking to professors to find the right fit for you. Best of luck!

It sounds to me like many of your anxieties are centered around your ability to write rather than your ability to study history. I suggest that you take an advanced composition course at a local college in order to help you with this issue. Also, keep a journal and spend some time every day writing about your life, your studies. This will help you become more comfortable with writing, and if you do it regularly, you will find it easier to express yourself in writing.