Quick note for new Mastodonians:
If you try to follow someone and get an hourglass, it means they have to approve your follows.
It is not a reflection on you if this doesn't happen immediately. Notifications about this aren't in the same window as the usual "someone followed you" default notifications.
It's not like Twitter's thing. It's Masto's own thing, and some of us are a bit more security-conscious than others, and some of us are slow to review our follow requests.
<3