@WRVC250 - Welcome to mygmrs!
As others said better, don’t let the few jerks ruin the experience for you. Listen to as much radio as you can and speak up when you have something to say. Also, don’t hesitate to participate here.
I'm just one year younger than you and I live in a place that has no GMRS repeaters, so I would have to establish my own if I wanted to have one connected to the net. Instead, I got my ham license. There are a lot of things going on in ham radio also to get involved with, so for me that’s an interesting place to learn. Everything I learn about ham radio carries over to GMRS.
Again, don’t hesitate to jump in here. Maybe the written nature will be easier for you with respect to retention.
Happy holidays!
Steve