Go Bear!!!
Cool dude, keep it up. The gears are your friends, that's why you have so many of them. As a bigger guy myself, I have a hate love relationship with hills, hate the ups/love the downs. After you've been riding for a just a little while you should be able to figure out what gears to be using. The guy who got me into riding was an ex-professional cyclist from Europe. That guy changed gears ALL the time, so I do too. On even short climbs I will use multiple gears, sometimes it's to make it easier on me, sometimes to go a bit faster, sometimes to just stretch my legs a bit. I guess my point is to just be aware of the tools you have and not get into a low gear and just stay there, always be exploring to find the best trade off between speed, ease of pedaling, and comfort. I bet you'll quickly find that you're able to climb in higher gears afer very litle riding.
And drink water too, you'll feel a lot better after hills if you've been hydrating all along. Good luck!!