You already got some good replies, but I still have something to add:
It is extremely unlikely you will permanently brick your laptop. The realistically worst thing to happen is that you end up without any working OS, be it Windows or Linux. If you can get help you will be able to install Windows again (not that hard though to do by yourself).
Second thing is that Linux installers usually come with a live environment. That means that your windows installation is absolutely safe while Mint runs from your USB. You can then do some browsing or play around with Mint before deciding to install it permanently.
You already got some good replies, but I still have something to add:
It is extremely unlikely you will permanently brick your laptop. The realistically worst thing to happen is that you end up without any working OS, be it Windows or Linux. If you can get help you will be able to install Windows again (not that hard though to do by yourself).
Second thing is that Linux installers usually come with a live environment. That means that your windows installation is absolutely safe while Mint runs from your USB. You can then do some browsing or play around with Mint before deciding to install it permanently.