very good choice on not getting it, i was in the EXACT same position 3 months ago that you are in now, and i know just how you feel. i wanted a wicked fast bike that looks good, i thought to myself nahhh i can handle it, i'll just go slow and ride careful for a while, some people may have gotten away with it but the most of people that try that, learn to be scared of their motorcycle which is a problem and is not fun at all. i got advice from people online just like these people tell you, and i tohught no, they dont know what they're talking about. so i eventually came around and instead of that nice 600cc sport bike i wanted i got a much more tame Suzuki GS500,
it is only 100cc off the sport bikes but it much more tame and easier to handle, it is controlable but still a lot of fun to ride, learning becomes fun and not me being scared of my bike, and yet it is still great fun in the twisties and it still packs some speed. since you are obviously interested in sport bikes the gs500 is a decent place to start without getting to powerful of a bike, another option is to get an older 600cc bike, something from the early 1990s, this will also allow you to have fun but learn to ride safely. now that i am learning to ride and have the basics down i will continue to get more saddle hours until i feel comfortable that i can handle a bigger bike, becuse if i'm scared of it i won't have any fun and i'll probably mess up, so get a nice bike and have some fun learning
Oh and rowdyred since i realized you were taking questions i figured i'd ask one myself...
What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?

it is only 100cc off the sport bikes but it much more tame and easier to handle, it is controlable but still a lot of fun to ride, learning becomes fun and not me being scared of my bike, and yet it is still great fun in the twisties and it still packs some speed. since you are obviously interested in sport bikes the gs500 is a decent place to start without getting to powerful of a bike, another option is to get an older 600cc bike, something from the early 1990s, this will also allow you to have fun but learn to ride safely. now that i am learning to ride and have the basics down i will continue to get more saddle hours until i feel comfortable that i can handle a bigger bike, becuse if i'm scared of it i won't have any fun and i'll probably mess up, so get a nice bike and have some fun learning

Oh and rowdyred since i realized you were taking questions i figured i'd ask one myself...
What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?