Replying to Computer nerds.... Linux question

So i am going to be reformatting my hard drive on my laptop very soon, and was considering running Linux instead of XP Pro SP3.

Now my main question is whether i will be able to figure my way out using it. I have heard it is really hard to get used to, especially coming from Windows.

And my second question is what kernel should I run? I know there are tons of different ones to run, but what are the most popular ones/easiest to use?

Thanks.