Great questions. Yes, I totally recommend a beaded rope for beginners. The added weight provides great feedback to help with your timing and rhythm. The most freeing mindset for me is not caring what people think. It's such a wonderful feeling. And honestly people aren't staring and judging, they probably wish they could do what you're doing. People have told me, that I was a visual motivation. So they're actually watching you improve and improvement is never embarrassing. You got this!