ive lived in hawaii almost my whole life, and i never really got into surfing.

i really wanna surf because a lot of my friend do it. the thing is, i only have a 5'10" shortboard.

reading online i read that everyone learns how to ride on a long board like 7ft + is it even possible that i can learn on mine?

i havent tried it out yet, and i dont wanna go out and make a fool out of my self.

what are the dificulities of a shortboard? ie. (harder to balance, harder to float?, hard to control?,  too fast) i just wanna know what im going up against. thanks for the help.