Is being a furry part of your identity and who you are, even when you're not in a fursuit?

Orion really helped me figure out who I was. I had a suit before and thought that was who I was. In university, I was so anxious and had horrible depression, so I started doodling this bird character. It was just this sassy, 'I don't take nothin' from no one' kind of personality. From that, I started feeling more of myself; I wasn't getting anxious going to school, and I had this feeling in me that I had this hippogryph personality coming out. I was fierce and I was being this thing that I always wanted to be, but couldn't. When I finally made the suit, it was this realization that it was like a second skin for me. I guess it's really changed part of me. I'm not overly shy and scared to be who I am. The hippogryph is an amalgamation of different animals. The eagle is proud and strong, the goat is resilient and fierce, and there's so many different things that came into it and made me who I am.