Zigster
I occasionally have to interact with this IT "professional", with a CS degree and a dozen MS certifications, who's a biggest normie I know. When I originally told him I use Linux, the expression of horror and dismay on his face was priceless. He knows nothing outside MS ecosystem and told me FOSS is for h###ers, and Signal is for t###ists.
Anyway. Sometimes, a "specialist/expert/professional" just isn't.
Some points:
- your phone is only 'good" through November.
- it's fine however, to practice on and see for yourself that it's not anything to be weary of - GOS, for vast majority of intents and purposes is just another Android phone.
- for installation, follow the web install instructions precisely. Bold font isn't enough to stress this point. If you do, things will go smooth, and easy. If you don't, you're extremely unlikely to brick your phone. It'll just take extra mucking around and doing it over and over to get it to work (basically, until you follow the instructions precisely). Beyond that, GOS mods and community is wonderful, just ask and you'll get help!
- if you're still too apprehensive to try, find a kid who can do it for you and do it together (by following web install instructions precisely). Most will happily agree to help for a small reward. I advised an older gentleman to do that when I was short on time and his nephew, who never heard of privacy-anything installed it for him on a first try on the spot. He had to order a new OEM cable first.
Best of luck!