What am I getting myself into Nikon D3100?

So I fell in love with the arts of photography about, two years ago. I have a Kodak EasyShare C182 and it's not letting me 'expand' on what I would like it do.
So i plan on upgrading for Christmas (since i'm only asking for money, and still have some from my birthday, and I still have way more than enough saved away in my bank.) I'm also only 14. But either way, I want a good camera that I can rely on. Then again, i don't know much about these cameras.

Nikon D3100 would this be a good camera to start out with?

Simple answer! Yes! It would be a VERY good camera to start with and to use while you develop your skills.

There's no bad cameras in the entry level DSLR market but yes, the D3100 is a very nice starter camera.

The D3100 is a DSLR, it's amazing, but all DSLRs are.

They all have the same quality, colors, etc., if someone says one brand is better that's just annoying fanboys with no knowledge.

D3100 is right now the best price/performance model to begin with. Even when you will know much more, you will be able to take great pics. Some people think once they know a lot, their DSLR just becomes "bad". Again, that's because many just care about the equipment, not the actual photography.

Here's a DSLR Buying Guide - http://www.the-dslr-photographer.com/2009/11/which-dslr-to-buy/

Then you should start reading
kenrockwell.com

Nikon D3100 is great, not only for you, but also for your non-photographer spouse; my XSi took phenomenal shots, but I had to know how to set it. Can you imagine me going to my non-photographer wife and say, "okay, when you take indoor shots of our kids, set the camera on A mode (Canons expose for ambient light in A mode and adjust flash for fill, that's great), +0.7 exposure compensation, ISO 400 or 800, white balance on cloudy, and shoot." My wife was lost at "okay." Sure the custom modes on the 40D would have helped, but the 40D is old technology; can it take 1080p video?