I had braces for 2 years. I am going to be honest when I say, it's annoying at first, then you get used to it. In fact, I was almost sad taking them off, I had gotten so used to them, I felt like I was going to miss the metal there, since I used to play with it so often. The whole getting them tightened thing, it's more annoying then painful, your mouth will just be sore. At least that's how it was with me.
You can still eat apples and such, just cut them into small pieces, and you can chew gum, just chew sugarless gum. Cleaning isn't too much of a pain, I am going to be completely honest, I never ever flossed, I still don't I hate flossing with a passion. I just brush my teeth well, my dentists are always impressed with how clean they are, and I'm like "Hah fuck you floss I win again."
I guarantee you'll forget you even have braces after the first month, what's important is that you're still aware they're there so you don't accidentally bite into and apple, or something hard which could break them. I am actually a bit happy, since I have a permanent retainer in my mouth, It's not noticeable, but I can feel it agaisnt my tounge, it bothered me at first, but again with the braces, I've gotten used to it and I can't imagine it not there.
Before and After (Warning I am horrible at smiling ;_;):
Before my braces:
After my braces:
I also had an awful overbite, which rubber bands help to fix. They were fun to play with <: