Shenaniganization

I don’t watch/read/listen to it, but I follow the summaries on the wiki

I rarely pursue information about it, but I have enough incidental contact with the core fandom that I’ve picked it up via osmosis

I strive to avoid it, but I’ve been indoctrinated against my will by the fucking memes

there’s sixteen Colorado counties that their most searched was “wolf furry”, plus thirty-odd counties (not counting either Arapahoe or any of the ones marked here as “Insufficient Data”) which may well have had plenty of searches for “wolf furry”, just fewer than for whatever they’re labeled here

and “skunk furry” searches in Arapahoe County outnumbered “wolf furry” searches in the entire state of Colorado

hobbies! anything that involves working with your hands, or getting outside, or learning about the world around you. your 'sense of self' is, ironically, not a thing you can find within yourself alone -- you have to feel out where it contacts the world around you.

simple material preferences are one place you can start. i like food for this, because everybody's gotta eat. consider what things you like, and what you don't. do you like spicy food? which spices do you like? do you prefer thai food to korean, or neither? chicken to fish? rice to potatoes? when you have a preference, consider: what is it that you like or dislike, that leads to that preference? or maybe you don't particularly care; that's information, too.

it's good to try things you think you'll dislike, too. maybe you'll find out you're wrong! or maybe you'll be right, but you'll learn more about yourself in the process. and you'll get better at managing discomfort, which is an important skill throughout all of this.

the more you ask yourself these questions, about more topics, the more you can get an impression of, "what am 'I' like?"

fiction isn't entirely out, but it's healthy to find things you like outside of their fandom -- things you enjoy for themselves, primarily, and not for the social affirmation you get from liking them. example: i'm a big fan of the Pride of Chanur books, a mildly obscure science fiction series from the 80s; i've met like one other person ever who's read them. this isn't a hipster thing! i would love for more people to read those books! i'll talk them up any chance i get! but the important thing is that i know why i like them, & which things i like about them, rather than fitting my identity into them.

the truth is that you are already, all the time, a three-dimensional person. everybody is. every movement you make & every day you live is the result of thousands upon thousands of choices and memories and preferences. the hard part is learning to see yourself that way.

They're the pickiest because they only eat things they can catch by plunging into at least six feet of water feet-first and are as close to their maximum carrying capacity as possible, to maximize calories-per-trip.

They're the Least Picky because so long as something fits those parameters, Osprey will go for it.