if you just want a quick start list of steps

grab your computer (laptop or desktop pc, doesnt matter)

install virtual box or vmware (doesnt matter which tbh) on your computer

go to the ubuntu homepage or linux mint (or if you wanna get more involved look for other beginer friendly distros, pop os is good for that too)

after you download the distro you chose, install it on the virtual machine (theres youtube videos for this and help across the web)

try it out for a while, its possible you run into issues that only exist on the virtual machine, this isnt too bad, spend some time just getting used to it