Hi Jennifer, and welcome to the madness. I hope you enjoy yourself.
No doubt you've scoured the beginners forums (fora?), and will have read innumerable times the near unanimous advice to join a club first, start off with basic equipment like binoculars and a star chart, and then try all types of other members' scopes before buying a dobsonian telescope (the usual recommendation). All good advice, by the way, but of course not universally applicable.
So assuming you've considered all these options and have decided that the ETX is nonetheless right for you, then let me say that it
is a pretty good telescope. (At least, given the aperture.) It is certainly nice to have something that will follow the planets and moon as they move across the sky, especially if you are sharing a telescope between people.
Certainly wait until you've got your scope before plunging into accessories. I think it is possibly quite true that most people have bought a bunch of coloured filters — based on good sound logic and scientific principles — and yet never use them. Probably you will decide first to upgrade your eyepieces, but see what you think of the ones you get with the scope (I assume you get one or two), and then try some others from club members. Eyepieces can be a bottomless pit, we all go through phases of acquiring far too many of them, and then we usually end up with just two or three that we use all the time. You'll see a heap on sale second hand, and that is a good way to try them, since you won't lose much when you decide to resell them.
Honestly, I suspect the things you will first want to spend money on will be pretty mundane things like red torches, star charts, a comfy seat, an external battery pack, and almost certainly a flexifocus or similar to replace the focuser knob.
Good luck, and welcome again.
Regards,
Brian.
