Lena: I feel your pain. Seriously. I went to school at Ohio State. I made an attempt to try this when I was in my early twenties but it was just way too intimidating for me and I shelved it for another 15 years. Please. Don't. Do that! The benefits of lifting are so expansive that nothing and no one should prevent you from having this for yourself.
And trust me, what you are feeling is not unusual. I still feel this way when I'm in a new gym. Heck, I'm going through it right now and I have been lifting for five years and have two personal training certifications. It's all about the culture of the gym and how you feel you meld into it.
He's what helps me as I acclimate:
Load up the iPod and don't leave home without it. If I can't hear them they don't exist.
Put together a workout before you get to the gym. This allows you to look at your list, and move from one exercise/activity to another without feeling lost.
Study the exercises you are about to perform. Use the university of google and check out the youtube videos. Don't just watch one version, watch many of the same exercise being performed. Rehearse it in you mind and then practice the movement unloaded at home. This will help you once you are in the gym later.
Also know that people are people in the gym and out. They may look intimidating but really are nice folks. I've been pleasantly surprised that the biggest and scariest of them were the ones who were most willing to make room for me and compliment my efforts.It is a little different at the university level. Some are there for social reasons, but there are some who came to work and you'll soon know the difference if you don't already.
Hmm. Another thing that might help is to get a staff member to help you with a couple of workouts or...get a friend to go in with you! Course, my experience has been that they usually don't last past the second week but if after the second week you can do this more comfortably on your own it's fine.
Hang in there and please don't give up. Let us know if you need suggestions on where to find workouts/exercises etc. I did list some sites on a previous post in this forum this morning. Those may help as well.