Why I am switching to Wordpress/a cry for help

First: I hope you all had a wonderful Easter yesterday, remembering the historic day when God fulfilled His promise to us through His son. Because he is risen, our faith is not in vain. Thanks be to God!

Well, well. Guess who decided to switch to Wordpress? Me. It started with a thought. A passing thought that returned to haunt me, and caused me to do a little research. Which in turn brought forth an obsession that has consumed how shall we say...um, many hours. 

Many, many hours. 

Why am I switching to Wordpress? That is a good question. Here's the thing, I still like blogger. In fact, you don't know how much I love blogger right now as I struggle with getting used to Wordpress. 

I had a Wordpress blog before Jeneric, and switched to blogger because I thought it was better suited to my needs (less business/professional looking, personal, user-friendly). I decided to switch back for two reasons, mainly:

1. I have a healthy fear of Google. Google owns blogger. Using blogger gives Google the license to use my content, or take away my content. I don't think Google would ever take down my blog for no reason, but I don't like the idea that they could. I like knowing I fully own what I work hard to produce. Since I have been blogging on Jeneric Generation for nearly three years now, I figure I must be serious about it. So why not take the leap and buy my own site? It seemed like the responsible thing to do.

2. Better SEO/traffic. Here is a good article on why Wordpress is better for both of these things. I want to see if the rumors are true.

Like I said, I am not moving to Wordpress out of hatred for Blogger by any means. But, I believe change is a good thing, and challenging myself forces me to learn new things, which I am hoping will be for the good of Jeneric in the long run. But to be completely honest, I am a little scared about all of this. I need more faith in my abilities. Actually, I need more abilities.

Now, the part where I cry for help. While switching from blogger to Wordpress was not all that difficult, the design part of it is definitely proving to be a challenge (I am self-hosting, and currently working with a free Wordpress theme) I want my wordpress blog to look just like this one! Or pretty close, anyway. I worked hard on this design and, while I am open to small changes, I want the overall look to be the same. This is proving to be difficult with a free Wordpress theme. 

If you are a Wordpress blogger, I have a few questions for you, if you would be so kind. Am I making the right decision here? Can you offer any advice on the design aspect of it? I thought Wordpress would have the same opportunities for adding html (like you can easily to the header and sidebar in blogger). As I am learning, Wordpress themes do not always offer the same options. Are there any themes that are more user-friendly than others? I am especially looking for one that includes a widget in the header. 

Any words of encouragement including but not limited to, "Once you get the hang of it, you will love it! Hang in there!", "Go, Jenny! You won't lose your sanity over this.", "I have all the Wordpress answers, give me a call and we can talk it over for five hours!", etc., are most welcome. Or, if you want to say, "No, Jenny! Don't do it! Here is why you MUST stay with blogger...!", I will not turn you away. 

Any input you have on the matter, as a Blogger user, Wordpress user, or non-blogger, is most welcome. Thank you all!

Oh! To account for my learning curve, I am going to spend the rest of this week learning more about Wordpress. If I get it all figured out more quickly than I thought, I will let you know. But as of right now, I will be taking a break from posting until next Monday. Thank you so much for bearing with me.