Haha, no, honestly im exactly the same! I feel like a newbie writer all the time, all my works are my own private stories for now.
i think the term is pantser/plantser (where you write on the fly/by the seat of your pants, or where you only partially plan Chapters without planning the entire story, I'm more of a plantser so I plan a few chapters ahead when I write. But after reading the ending of your original version, my mind just raced and I could picture what I'd do for the first 3-4 chapters and what I'd do for an overall story and ending (but of course this is your story, not mine so I respect that totally!)
I'm very much a novice myself so I get what you mean there. The offer is always open if you ever want and it is a genuine one. I have a few friends who write, some irl and some online, who ive had as critique partners/beta reading, and thrown ideas with each other, so I doubt I'd consider you a pain in the ass if you ever invited me to help, even if its just to bounce ideas off each other. And yeah, i noticed your unique style with grammar, and thats one of the best parts of the story, it made it feel like actual people talking to each other, not just characters in a story (if that makes sense) 😂
as I said, offer is always open, you don't have to take it, of course, and I wouldn't mind since it's your story and idea and no one else's, but if you ever want some help in any way, I'll be here, and hey, that offer can stand for Straight?! Or any other project you work on because I'd love to see how you as a writer and your style develop in the future. You have a lot of skill and talent!