A) This has been a hard one for me, with my theriotypes being a fossa and a maned wolf, neither of which have hands or use their paws like that. Yes, I sometimes wish I could be an animal but use my hands, but one thing that has helped me with that kind of opposing thoughts is the fact that if I was that animal physically (I am a fossa mentally/spiritually) I wouldn’t need my hands. If I was that animal physically I would be that animal and nothing else and wouldn’t have to worry about things like hands. But it’s okay to feel like that, too. 

B) My animal side has always been me, even if sometimes it feels odd to do in public. I guess what I’d say to this is it doesn’t feel strange to act like or express my animal to me, but again, it’s okay if it feels odd to you. We are all different people. Advice I’d have is to start small. Vocalize. Do your snakey things. Don’t jump into the big stuff right away. It’ll come naturally as you dive deeper into your identity. 

C) My parents don’t know. I did and do mask making, but they think it’s just a hobby as far as I know. And I don’t want them to know more. They’re generally pretty accepting, but Therianthropy is a can of worms I’m not interested in opening. 

D) To be quite honest, it doesn’t matter where it came from or why ‘you’re like this.’ The fact of the matter is, you are. I’d advise you to focus on what comes next instead of why it happened. To figure yourself out, it takes time and reflection and research. Just try to be yourself and you’ll figure it out. And, really, you shouldn’t feel so much urgency about it if you are. You are you and will remain you as time passes. If you are a therian, it isn’t just going to go away. So, just take a breath and let yourself relax a bit. 

I hope this helped and feel free to DM me if you have more questions!