I can't remember what I did with vim the first time I used it, but whenever I'm stuck in a cli program and want to go back to the shell, I usually tried ctrl+c first, and if doesn't work, crtl+z.
Long before I used vim, some dude shared a bunch of vim memes with ":q!" in them.
It was actually vi on some ye olde unix machine, but I remembered the meme and got out, searched up how to use vim, and then jumped back in to edit the file lol.
By looking up the command. It took like two seconds and that was nearly twenty years ago. And I've been using it off and on since then (only off because I've not been consistently using Linux, not because I'm using a different terminal text editor; when on *NIX, vim/vi is pretty much all I've used on the terminal)
VI was so pathetic and old - blasphemy! - that I almost gave up on college and the career as I mistakenly thought in my grief, at having to suffer that dreck, that it was all gonna be like that.
Thankfully someone showed me anything different. About 5 options, actually . I picked one and I'm happy to use anything else (eg sed-i) unless vi is the only thing left; and then I decide whether it's worth it.
What a sad old callback to the Vietnam war that is (not for the name; it's that old).
I know the vi cabal will be upset to hear someone who tried it actually doesn't worship it. They're gonna downvote me. That's okay. I got over that hate 30 years ago.
Just remember : there's probably something else you can use and experience more joy, if they haven't demanded everything else be removed.