Welcome to the fora, cherokeephoenix! For avatars, be sure to look through all of the stock ones, as there are many (I didn't know about them until I had been here half a year). If you don't like any of those, my suggestion would be to do a google image search for something that you're interested in, and see if you can find something that you like. Enjoy your time with us!
Try Google search using "animated gif". Find one you like that is 100x100 and smaller than 50KB and save it to download to the Forum. I love collecting them. The Forum has a bunch of great ones also to choose from, good luck!