السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته أحسن الله إليكم Is it necessary to proclaim oneself as a Salafi in order to be one and to be from the Sunnah? I've been told that I shouldn't sit with awam and only with Salafis because awam listen to everybody even to ahlul bid'ah. This matter is problematic for me.

What makes a person Salafi is adherence to the Book and the Sunnah upon the understanding of the Companions and those who followed them in goodness. The scholars explain that ascribing oneself to the salaf is correct and praiseworthy when it is a sincere reality and not a mere claim or an empty slogan. As for companionship, the criterion the scholars give is the state of the companion and his effect upon your religion, not merely a name he carries. The Prophet ﷺ said that a person is upon the religion of his close friend, so let each of you look at whom he befriends, and he ﷺ likened the righteous and the evil companion to the carrier of musk and the blower of the bellows (al-Bukhari and Muslim).