Just because some of the other metaphors that were thrown out were slightly confusing to me, I will post my own.

Imagine your post like this:
"So, I'm a 17 year-old junior in high school who LOVES looking at pictures of mountains.

I can run on the stairmaster for an hour at a time, and I've even signed up for a few beginner rock climbing classes! I bought some rope and a coat and some mittens and a hat and some cramp ons.

All I'm saying is, do the grizzled mountain climbers think that I can climb Mount Everest?"

Or here's a game related one:
"I just started playing a game of monopoly and I was the first one to buy a property! Do Monopoly experts think I will win?"

Hey, you sound excited to start developing games! My advice is to do just that: start.

I would recommend beginning with a simple tutorial for a 2D game in a language other than C++. I personally started with this tutorial, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it. I'm sure you can find a better tutorial. Also, once you understand the basics, I would recommend starting your projects from scratch. Some people might tell you to use a pre-made engine, but I have found that I learn a lot more by doing everything myself.

Anyway, I am certainly not a grizzled veteran, so take my advice with a grain of salt. I hope this helps!

-Scott