Yes, that would make sense. They might be pretty smelly by now. I assume it’s an acoustic?

Starting out I would go as light as possible  

D’Addario makes a 9 gauge set for acoustic and I have one guitar set up with them and they sound great and are easy to play. I buy them from Amazon  

These are easier on your finger tips than heavier strings. If you can’t get these I would look for a 10 gauge set. 

 D’Addario is a good brand, but companies like Ernie Ball (slinky) or Elixer are also great. Gibson and Fender also sell strings and these are great as well.