From what my friend, a networking major has told me, I would probably need a long list of text commandsThat hasn't been true for a decade or more.
If you want to check for yourself, note that most modern Linux distributions (Ubuntu, Fedora, Mint, etc.) have what's called a "Live CD" version, that runs directly from the CD, without touching your hard drive at all.
You can either download an image and burn it to a CD (assuming you have Windows-based software that will let you burn an "ISO" image to a CD-R, or go to the nearest decent bookstore and find a "Learn about Linux" magazines with an included DVD.
Then, put the disc into your computer, restart, and give it a try. You might like it.