I’m not exactly the oldest fur around, but I’ve been a furry for a long time and there’s many advice I could’ve given to younger me.

I have a few, but it mostly boils down to: don’t make being a furry a big deal. Just relax.

More specifically:

• Being a furry is just a hobby. You don’t need to “come out” as a furry or tell anyone. And in most cases, there’s nothing wrong with your friends knowing that you’re a furry, it’s not a shameful secret you need to hide as if it’s a fetish (just don’t let your future employers know). Use a furry wallpaper or furry profile picture if you want to and where it’s appropriate. Of course, with furries being generally seen in negative lights, some caution need to be exercised, and some people may treat you being a furry very badly. Use your own judgement, but for the most part, it’s less of a big deal than I expected.
• Don’t worry about all the hatred. Younger me have seen so many furry hate comments, especially around the “gamers vs furries” time, that she wanted to quit the fandom out of fear. But really, all those hate comments are mostly made by children trying to look cool by attacking a punching bag. It’s mostly empty threats. Just ignore the haters and trolls making fun of you for being a furry and bee yourself. Don’t let fear consume you.
• Don’t worry about how unique your fursona is. Younger me was afraid that her fursona is not unique enough or that someone might have a similar looking fursona, but I don’t care now. Your fursona should reflect what you like, not what is the most unique. If you’d prefer a vanilla looking fursona, that’s fine. If you’d like your fursona to be a polar bear with purely white fur, go ahead. You don’t need to add additional pattern to make it more stand out, unless that’s really what you want.
• Fursona can be changed anytime, so don’t worry about picking the wrong one. Explore around and try out fursona designs you’d like. If you already have a fursona but want to change it, that’s fine. But be aware that any art or fursuits made for your old fursona won’t magically change to your new ones, so do take deep consideration about your fursona before making an expensive art commission or a fursuit.

That’s all I can say for now.