don't connect to pubs and take it easy on whom to follow (I would be a bad first person to follow considering how many messages I have and how big the network around me is ;)

I would recommend getting started with one of the manyverse clients and connecting to a friendly neighborhood SSB Room (https://picoroom.hendrikpeter.net being an excellent first choice).

It's probably best to set the replication hops to 2, so you don't blow up your database if you (or a friend of a friend) connects with an SSB-celeb.

and from there go where your friend wants to go ^_^