There's a lot of authoritative claims about what meditation is in this thread, so there's also a good chance that what I do is considered "not real meditation" but it's what I learned at a meditation center, so I'm going to go ahead and tell you what got me over it when I had a hard time starting:

Just allow yourself to be bad at it and repeatedly apply the rule that when observe that your attention has wandered, you just consciously bring it back to what you're supposed to be focusing on. You haven't "failed at meditation", you're learning it. Don't beat yourself up for your mind wandering, just acknowledge that the repeated application of the redirection is what it takes and it's all part of the practice. At first it's non-stop, and eventually you get better at it. Sometimes it's excruciatingly boring and tedious and sometimes it's immensely relaxing, and occasionally you get weird hallucinatory stuff out of nowhere (although that to me feels like just going into a dream state, which I've always interpreted as "I'm so relaxed I fell asleep and dreamt").

That's really all it is for me. A way to relax and slow down.

Anything that gets you there is a way to meditate. There's nothing wrong with the method you learned if it works for you.

Try starting with very short meditation sessions, even just 1-2 minutes. Even a small first step is still beneficial. Long meditation sessions are not the end goal. Self-awareness is.

I just finished watching two informative series that I recommend: “The Science of Mindfulness: A Research-Based Path to Well-being” and “Practicing Mindfulness: An Introduction to Meditation”. They’re long (24 30-minutes episodes in each series). You can watch them for free on Kanopy.com with a library card from a participating library.

Maybe guidance from a good teacher, patience with yourself, and persistence (continuing to practice even when you're frustrated with your lack of progress). Meditation isn't for everyone but nothing you have said suggests that it isn't for you.

Instead of me spilling tons of personal info, do you mind sharing what would suggest meditation isn't for someone? Your input will be appreciated

There's an anecdote in the Tipitaka where the Buddha analogizes would-be followers who never advance in the practice to farm animals that never grow, and explains what the herder does with those animals: he kills them.

This is generally understood as a recommendation to kick hopeless monks out of the monastery, not literally kill them.

You'd have to ask a competent meditation teacher, which I am very much not, how to know. I am pretty sure that the answer involves spending some time trying, with good guidance.

I personally use an app called Smiling Mind. It has different paths you can go according to what problem you're trying to solve through meditation. It's an amazing app IMO.

Following heleninboodler 's advice in the other answer.