I felt the same way as the OP when I first carried, but that is part of the "respect" process of carrying a pistol. As many have suggested, a decent holster will keep you safe. I carry my Glock 27 (sub-compact, same size as Glock 26) in a KYDEX holster. They have excellent retention, are very thin, and don't flex very much. Because they hold their form (unlike most soft holsters), I feel they are a tad safer.
I won't tell you what your first pistol should be. However, I will comment that pistols with safeties have an extra layer of complexity. I don't know what is worse: my gun firing when I don't want it to...or my gun NOT firing when I NEED it to. The thing I love about striker fired pistols, like Glocks, are that they are dead simple. They are very easy to learn, very easy to shoot, very reliable, and require little maintenance. There aren't many buttons or levers, nor are there two different trigger pulls (a la DA/SA); just a simple pistol that goes bang when you need it to.
Here is an example of a kydex holster (notice the hard plastic surrounding the trigger and trigger guard):
I won't tell you what your first pistol should be. However, I will comment that pistols with safeties have an extra layer of complexity. I don't know what is worse: my gun firing when I don't want it to...or my gun NOT firing when I NEED it to. The thing I love about striker fired pistols, like Glocks, are that they are dead simple. They are very easy to learn, very easy to shoot, very reliable, and require little maintenance. There aren't many buttons or levers, nor are there two different trigger pulls (a la DA/SA); just a simple pistol that goes bang when you need it to.
Here is an example of a kydex holster (notice the hard plastic surrounding the trigger and trigger guard):