Welcome to the forum, @hillarymhendrix. Inkscape can be overwhelming, with so many more choices and options and features. Silhouette Studio is much simpler, but you have learned the basics of vector designing if you can use it. Silhouette Studio can save a design file as an SVG only if you have an upgraded version. It costs to have that feature.
If you are only getting engravable objects, then you have might have filled the object with a color rather than defining the stroke color only.
Have you done the First Prints tutorial yet? It does walk you though the process using Inkscape.
Have you noticed the Glowforge Tips and Tricks category? There are many tutorials there, including the basics of Inkscape that can help you understand how to design using vector software.
Start with this tutorial: Laser Design Basics 🤔
If you need some more help with this, I’ll keep an eye out for you here.