Give up? Never! Our first year was horrible. I came home one day to find my husband standing by the hive which was all spread out on the ground - we had lost our first hive! It was terrible, sad and we were discouraged. But the next year we started out with 2 nucs, now in our 4th year we have 6.
The bees are the best teachers there are. This forum is always there for you. Look how many responses you received. And when you have a question, you get a quick answer.
I didn't recognize the drones the first year - was in a panic, posted a message and within a hour had 4 responses.
Looking forward to hearing from you again with a success story.