Noticing Newbies

In that case, I would definitely stick with the 1st person. I like the feel of being able to put in what people think and feel, and with 1st person you can only do one. The reader as well as the character in 1st person have to guess at the other character's motivation. To me that is very limiting. As for experience, someone who writes often gets more experience than someone who has written only occasionally. Hang in there and keep writing!